President Marcos rebuffed criticisms that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is merely a “talk shop” as he underscored its role in keeping peace and stability in the disputed South China Sea region.
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. during the 14th ASEAN-United Nations Summit held in Vientiane, Laos (Malacañang photo)
The Philippines, along with ASEAN members Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Vietnam, all have claims on the resource-rich region, which has become a possible flashpoint of military conflict because of China’s sweeping claims.
“Well, first of all, I don’t agree that this is just a talk shop. But even if it were, I’d rather be talking than watching conflict,” Marcos said during the “Kapihan sa Laos” on Friday, Oct. 11.
The President attended the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Laos, where he delivered a strongly worded statement about China’s maritime activities and provocative actions in Philippine-claimed territories of the South China Sea in front of Chinese Premiere Li Qiang.
“So, if the talking is keeping conflict away, then ASEAN will have achieve at least one of its most important purposes. But I think what is important is that we are able to, once again, make our position very clear on different issues,” he added.
The Chief Executive insisted that he made the Philippines’ position clear that it must be allowed to exercise its rights in its territories.
Marcos explained the importance of updating the ASEAN member-states about the situation in the region because “they do not live with this – they do not live with this situation day to day.”
“It is always very useful because at some point, there are many offers of help. And they say if that is the problem, maybe we could do this, maybe we could --- maybe our country can send vessels, maybe we can have joint operations, maybe we can have discussions, maybe I can serve as an interlocutor,” he said.
“All of these offers, which would not come if we did not make our position clear and explained to them what the present situation is, how the situations have evolved,” the President added.
This, he said, does not only apply to the South China Sea issue, but to other matters as well, such as the climate change, renewable energy, and gender equality, among others.
“All of these different very important issues need to be discussed and need to be ventilated so that everyone knows what everyone else is doing, how everyone feels, and how we can bring it all together to make it a cohesive effort that will make true changes,” he stressed.