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| Map charting the Arbitration Tribunals Findings (Click Image to Enlarge) |
By Pia Lee-Brago
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines must be firm in adhering to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the ruling handed down by an arbitral tribunal, which invalidated China’s claim to the South China Sea, former foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario said over the weekend.
Del Rosario said the Philippines’ chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a unique opportunity to show the country’s resolve and focus on the principle of centrality and the chair’s ability to propose the agenda.
“Our proposed agenda should have included an open discussion on the outcome of the arbitral tribunal, which effectively addresses a lawful approach to ASEAN’s most crucial security concern in the region,” Del Rosario told The STAR.
Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. has said the ASEAN is fast-tracking the framework of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea.
Del Rosario emphasized that the development of a COC framework, with the Philippines as chair and pushing for its completion, would be “an exercise in futility if the tribunal outcome is not factored in and it is not recognized as being a most important component of the framework.”
Read the full story at PhilStar