DAVAO CITY (June 20 ) — President Rodrigo Duterte is set to leave for Thailand this week to attend the 34th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and join his fellow leaders in discussing a wide range of regional issues.
During the summit, Duterte may possibly discuss the issue involving the sinking of a Philippine fishing boat Gim-Ver-1, which was allegedly rammed by a Chinese vessel in Recto Bank on June 9.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary and Director General of ASEAN-Philippine National Secretariat Junever Mahilum-West said the issue on the South China Sea isn’t traditionally discussed during the summit proper, but it can be raised during the dinner or retreat.
“In the meantime that these major factors are pending, I think it would be premature of me to say that we will raise the issue at the summit,” she said in a media briefing.
The DFA in a statement said, Duterte will participate in the summit, chaired by Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, on June 22 and 23.
In a pre-departure briefing in Malacañang, Mahilum-West described President Duterte’s Thailand schedule to be “very hectic.”
As scheduled, the President will attend several important events during the summit, which include the Summit Plenary, Gala Dinner for the leaders, Leaders’ Retreat, and the 13th Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit.
“At the plenary session on June 22, the leaders will discuss ASEAN community building under the theme ‘Advancing Partnership for Sustainability.’ Also, there will be a Leaders’ Retreat, during which they will exchange views on ASEAN’s external relations and the way forward, as well as significant regional and international issues,” she told reporters.
A couple of bilateral meetings are still being arranged by Philippine officials and their counterparts, she said.
The crafting of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea will also be a major agenda during the ASEAN Summit in Thailand, with the Philippines being the ASEAN-China dialogue coordinator, the DFA official said.
As a coordinator from 2018 to 2021, the Philippines negotiates the ASEAN Member States and China on the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, she explained, stressing a Code of Conduct is important to avoid mishaps like the recent incident in Recto Bank involving Filipino and Chinese fishermen.
“Because incidents like what happened emphasized the importance of having a Code of Conduct so that we could prevent these incidents from happening in the future,” Mahilum-West said.
During his attendance in the Nikkei’s 25th International Conference on the Future of Asia in Japan, Duterte highlighted the importance of a binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea to ease regional tension and prevent miscalculation.-NewsLine.ph
