Noy back from US, sees more investments coming

President Aquino yesterday returned from a three-day visit to the United States, his last foreign trip as the country’s chief executive.

Aquino said it was an honor to represent the Philippines in international events and to participate in discussions of key issues.

“This may be my last trip as President. It was a huge honor to represent the Philippines in different meetings and to emphasize to those we conversed with the renewed vitality of our country and our readiness to help shape a world that is peaceful, caring and experiencing development,” Aquino said in his arrival statement.

“We felt their respect for the transformations we have achieved because of the straight path. Indeed, it feels great to be a Filipino at this time,” he added.

Aquino attended the fi rst meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and US as strategic partners from Feb. 15 to 16 in Sunnylands, California. It was also his last ASEAN summit as president.

The summit was held amid China’s aggressive expansion in the South China Sea, a busy sea lane where more than $5 trillion worth of global trade passes through every year.

US President Barack Obama, who has been criticizing China’s actions, proposed the holding of the summit during the third ASEAN-US Summit in Malaysia last November.

Aquino said the Philippines’ call for the peaceful resolution of disputes and rule of law gained support during the summit. “Before, only a few mentioned this issue. Now, the position of the ASEAN and the US is very clear in the joint statement: security, stability and freedom of navigation should remain in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea; and disputes should be resolved through peaceful processes in accordance with international law,” he said.

During the conclusion of the summit, the US and ASEAN issued a joint statement which highlighted the need to work together to address global concerns.

The Sunnylands Declaration reaffirmed 17 key principles, including “mutual respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, equality and political independence of all nations; and firm adherence to a rules-based regional and international order that upholds and protects the rights and privileges of all states.”

The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment “to peaceful resolution of disputes, including full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, without resorting to the threat or use of force.”

The declaration also stressed the need to adhere to universally recognized principles of international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The leaders also vowed “to maintain peace, security and stability in the region, ensuring maritime security and safety, including the rights of freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the seas, and unimpeded lawful maritime commerce; and to promote cooperation to address common challenges in the maritime domain.”

Aquino said delegates at the summit also had discussions on innovation, global pandemics and climate change.

“We shared our experiences and stressed our readiness to help increase the awareness of our neighboring countries,” he said.

After the summit, Aquino went to Los Angeles to deliver an address before the nonpartisan group Los Angeles World Affairs Council.

In his speech, Aquino said the Philippines would not acquire weapons of mass destruction despite its maritime row with China.

The President also met with executives of Walt Disney International, Western Digital Corp. and Aecom to tackle potential business opportunities in the Philippines.

He said the businessmen recognized the talents of Filipinos in creative services, high technology manufacturing and infrastructure.

Aquino also revealed Walt Disney chairman Andy Bird is planning to visit the Philippines this year.

“They expressed interest to help strengthen our creative industry,” he said.