Apr 7, 2012
[PHOTO - Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from left, the Philippines' President Benigno Aquino III, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung]
MANILA, APRIL 7, 2012 (STANDARD) Written by Joyce Pangco Panares - PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday pushed for a meeting between China and the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations once a binding Code of Conduct on the regional maritime territorial disputes is finalized.
The group must buckle down to work to reach a common position on a legally-binding Code of Conduct, Mr. Aquino told the plenary session of the 20th Asean Summit in Phnom Penh.
The Asean only has a declaration on the Code of Conduct, a document that is not binding on the claimant states in the South China Sea that the Philippines calls the West Philippine Sea.
Mr. Aquino said the fundamentals of the proposed Code of Conduct should be internal to Asean amid the pressure that China was bringing to bear on the matter.
“It is important that we maintain Asean centrality,” Mr. Aquino said.
“After the [Code of Conduct] has been finalized by the Asean, then the Asean member-states will meet with China.”
China has already signified its willingness to engage the Asean on the code’s drafting as soon as possible. The Philippines is part of the panel drafting the code.
[PHOTO - AP Photo3 days ago Philippines' President Benigno Aquino III, left, talks with Myanmar President Thein Sein after a group photograph at the opening ceremony of the 20th ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tuesday, April 3, 2012.]
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Teresita Barsana says the Philippines will push its initiative for a Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation in the disputed areas.
She says Cambodia is hopeful that the Code of Conduct will finally be formulated within their chairmanship of the Asean because the existing declaration was also signed in Phnom Penh 10 years ago.
“They are really very interested in seeing that something very positive comes out of it,” Barsana said.
The Philippines, the other countries claiming all or part of the West Philippine Sea are Vietnam, Brunei, China, Taiwan and Malaysia.
New differences could undercut attempts by Southeast Asian countries and China to forge a pact aimed at preventing territorial conflicts from erupting into violence, diplomats said Tuesday at the start of a regional meeting.
The disputes in the South China Sea and North Korea’s planned rocket launch this month are top security worries expected to feature prominently at a two-day summit of Southeast Asian leaders in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.
Myanmar, meanwhile, was basking in praise from colleagues for its recent democratic reforms. It was a marked reversal for the country, condemned for years for massive human rights violations, from its previous black sheep image at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ annual gathering.
Myanmar President Thein Sein was to brief fellow leaders on Sunday’s historic by-elections, which saw pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party sweep to victory.
Cambodia, the 10-nation Asean’s steward this year, has wanted to focus on nonpolitically volatile issues like the goal of transforming Southeast Asia from a disparate cluster of fledgeling democracies, socialist states and monarchies into a European Union-like bloc that could compete in a bustling region dominated by rising giants such as China and India.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen outlined the financial problems roiling the world, including skyrocketing oil prices that he said could lash the region if it did not lock arms in unity. He did not touch on controversial security issues.
“Asean is facing challenges that need to be addressed in order to realize its objective of ‘one community, one destiny,’” Hun Sen said in a speech, mentioning this year’s summit theme. With AP
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