Admitting that the situation in Myanmar has not changed despite the Five-Point Consensus, President Marcos bared that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is "trying to formulate" new strategies to address the situation.
In an interview on the sidelines of the 45th ASEAN summits on Wednesday, Oct. 9, Marcos talked briefly about the situation in Myanmar, which he said, has not changed despite the Five-Point Consensus.
He also said that the position of the Philippines on the situation in Myanmar remains the same.
The President disclosed that the ASEAN has been looking into ways to "move forward" and "formulate new strategies" to address the situation in Myanmar.
"The position of the Philippines remains the same. We are firmly behind the ASEAN proposal of five-point consensus and we are trying to find ways to move forward because we have to admit that although the five-point have been out there since Brunei, we have not been very successful in actually changing the situation. So we are trying to formulate new strategies," Marcos said.
The Five-Point Consensus serves as ASEAN’s guidance in responding to the Myanmar crisis, which calls for the immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar; exercise of utmost restraint from all parties; a constructive dialogue to seek a peaceful solution; and humanitarian assistance as priorities.
WPS situation
Like what he intended to do prior to flying to Laos, Marcos said he brought up the maritime issues and multiple claims in the South China Sea during his intervention at the summits.
Although he did not specify the details, he said in interview on Wednesday, Oct. 9, that he brought up the South China Sea issues during the ASEAN retreat session.
“I didn’t specify the details but it is just the general principle of the adherence to the rule of law and the UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea). Just as a general theme,” the President said.
“We will have a chance to get into more detail maybe in the next couple of days,” he added.
The President said the Philippines adheres to the 1982 UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award in its efforts to address and manage disputes and tensions with China.
The Philippines won its case against China in the 2016 Arbitral award that declared Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea have no legal basis.
China, however, did not recognize the ruling and continued to harass Philippine vessels in staking their claim in the region.