Arroyo warns vs ASEAN expectation to resolve South China Sea issue

While there seems to be progress made in advancing the adoption of a Code of Conduct (COC), former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has cautioned the region that it would not be realistic to expect the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a group to resolve the South China Sea issue.

Speaking at a forum sponsored by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and the Foreign Service Institute of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Arroyo said it would be well to continue the efforts as “further opportunities may emerge.”

“From my own experience, it would not be realistic to expect ASEAN as a group to resolve the issue,” the former president told a full-capacity crowd during the High Level Forum on ASEAN@50 in Pasay City the other day.

Arroyo, however, noted that since President Duterte has assumed power last year, the ASEAN and China relationship “has gone a long way toward reduced tension and better understanding.”

“As tensions further diminished, further opportunities to resolve the differences may emerge,” she said.

Last August 6, foreign ministers from the 10-member ASEAN and China adopted a negotiating framework for a COC in the South China Sea, an effort to advance the 2002 Declaration of Conduct of Parties document.

In hindsight, the former president recalled that the South China Sea issue was “less of a focus” when the Philippines chaired the 2007 ASEAN summit in Cebu City.

She likewise recounted her involvement in the evolution of ASEAN, especially the support the Philippines extended to ASEAN during her presidency.

ASEAN, she said, has brought numerous benefits to its people, including opportunities to travel, cheaper goods from other countries in the region, larger markets, increased job opportunities, and more foreign investment.

Joining Arroyo in the panel discussion was former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva who underscored the importance of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community as a “pillar in building the ASEAN Community.”

“For a sustained integration arrangement to be successful, you have to create a sense of belonging. We have to make ASEAN produce benefits that are tangible and people-centered,” he said.

Both Arroyo and Vejjajiva wrote essays as part of Volume 1: The ASEAN Journey: Reflections of ASEAN Leaders and Officials.

Southeast Asian leaders are expecting some progress in the talks on the proposed China-backed free trade agreement when they gather in Manila next month, President Duterte said on Thursday.

The President highlighted the regional bloc’s support for the planned Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as part of forging a “bigger, more open and rules-based market.”

“We would like to see substantial progress in negotiations [for the establishment] of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership,” Duterte said during a regional forum in Pasay City last Thursday night. (With a report from Genalyn D. Kabiling)