The Philippines is "continuously assessing" the implications of the trilateral security agreement of Australia, United Kingdom, and United States (AUKUS), a foreign affairs executive bared.
“We continuously assess this agreement and welcome efforts made by the countries concerned to explain it further,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Acting Undersecretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro said in a recent meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Lazaro, who is also the Philippines’ senior officials’ meeting leader to ASEAN, echoed DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin's earlier statement on the enhanced trilateral security partnership, saying that the Philippines sees value in the enhancement of a neighbor’s capability to project power.
She said "the Philippines believes it will restore and keep the balance in the region, rather than destabilize it."
The first initiative under the AUKUS agreement is to support Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines.
The undersecretary said the Philippines continues to uphold the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Treaty as an important instrument to maintain peace and stability in the region.
“We welcome assurances made by one of our partners that its actions will support the SEANWFZ Treaty and that it will abide by its commitments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” the DFA official said.
Meanwhile, the official has also reiterated the call for the swift and complete implementation of the five-point consensus in a bid to address the situation in Myanmar.
The five-point consensus came out of the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting held in April 2021 which includes efforts in ending the violence in Myanmar; the facilitation of constructive dialogue with the National Unity Government and other parties; the deployment of an ASEAN special envoy; the facilitation of humanitarian aid; and a visit by the ASEAN delegation to Myanmar to assess the situation.
Lazaro further said that Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof "must be accorded unhindered access to all parties concerned, in the spirit of constructive dialogue."