The Philippines has urged member states of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), a group of 120 nations with no alignment to any major power, to unite in a bid to address challenges affecting world and regional developments.
During the group's ministerial meeting in Azerbaijan, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Carlos Sorreta said that NAM members must not be divided by external powers.
Sorreta urged them to remain true to the movement's founding principles, which are determination, non-interference, sovereign equality and independence as well as true non-alignment.
The country's call came after several member states opposed updates on the NAM Ministerial Outcome Document on the South China Sea as they claimed the matter "was contentious," according to the DFA.
Expressing "deep disappointment" over "damaging" negotiations to NAM’s credibility, DFA said, the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a bloc where the Philippine belongs, also expressed concern that "a powerful non-member state was working behind the scenes to ensure the paragraphs would not be changed."
India shared the same sentiment, the DFA added.
The Philippines urged the movement to uphold the interests of developing countries on key issues such as climate change, access and responsible use of new technologies like artificial intelligence, and overcoming inequality, underdevelopment, and racism.
It also said that NAM must be at the forefront of promoting peace and security and peaceful settlement of disputes.
"NAM has never shied away from dealing with difficult issues…and has always been a progressive platform for developing countries to chart their own sovereign course, unimpeded by the interests of external powers…it must remain so," Sorreta said.