Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo has met his Indian counterpart as New Delhi joined a list of nations supporting Manila’s territorial integrity over the West Philippine Sea. Manalo, in a Twitter post, said he talked to Indian Minister of External Affairs Subdahmanyam Jaishankar at an annual gathering of various top diplomats this time held in Jakarta, where they agreed that international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), must be respected. "At the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference with India, I acknowledged that the Philippines shares India's view that international law, particularly UNCLOS, should underpin all maritime relations," Manalo said. "For his part, Dr. S Jaishankar…highlighted the convergence of ASEAN Outlook on the Indo Pacific and India’s Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative," he added. Photo courtesy of ASEAN Secretariat
Manalo and Jaishankar's interaction came after New Delhi also pressed on China to acknowledge UNCLOS, an international agreement that sets the Philippines' sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea, which Beijing claims as its own. On Wednesday, July 12, Indian Ambassador to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran relayed New Delhi's concern that "all actors, big and small, [must] adhere to the rule of law and to a rules based international order." Meanwhile, Manalo also gathered with fellow foreign ministers from the ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, and most especially, China, to talk about regional concerns. The Philippines' top diplomat said the 24th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Ministerial Meeting allowed the foreign ministers to hold dialogue and collaborate on how to maintain peace, stability and prosperity amid challenges in the world.