South China Sea row among talking points in Marcos' meetings at ASEAN Summit

The South China Sea dispute will be tackled during President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s meetings at the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits and Related Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia next week, an official said on Friday.

"The South China Sea will also be there because we always carry that in all of our meetings in the international fora," Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu said at a press briefing.

Espiritu also said on top of the list of topics are matters related to the post-pandemic economic recovery and transformation.

"So that would cover food security, energy security, digital transformation and the digital economy, and also climate change in as much as this is very much related to our disaster management efforts in the Philippines," he said.

Meanwhile, on international issues such as the Russian-Ukraine war, Espiritu said "we are, of course, calling for the cessation of hostilities, and the return of the concerned parties to the negotiating table."

"And also, we’ll have to discuss also the negative impact, the global impact of the crisis especially on the global economy, stagflation and again, energy shortage, food shortage and the host of other ramifications of this conflict," Espiritu said.

Marcos is set to travel to Cambodia to attend the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits scheduled from November 10 to 13.

The ASEAN Summit is the highest policy-making body in ASEAN comprising the head of states of government of ASEAN member states.

Myanmar peace situation

The DFA said the country is also at the forefront on the call for the implementation of the five-point consensus regarding the peace situation in Myanmar.

"With regards to international issues especially on Myanmar, we are very much at the forefront of the call for the implementation of the five-point consensus," Espiritu said when asked which issues will the President push in the regional meet.

Espiritu said on October 27, a special Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in Jakarta, Indonesia to discuss the issue of Myanmar. He said various foreign ministers "put forth a list of recommendations to push forward the implementation of the five-point consensus."

"But this will still have to be processed. So, I think, I better not preempt the nature of the list at this point, because it will still be processed by some leaders of ASEAN on the way to the Summit," Espiritu said.

"And whatever will be processed there will be cleared by the foreign ministers before it could be elevated to the summit leaders during the summit," he added.

The five-point plan has called for an immediate end to violence and dialogue between the military and the anti-coup movement.

During his state visit in Singapore in September, Marcos and Singaporean leaders have expressed deep concern over the political crisis in Myanmar in which they called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, U Win Myint, and foreign detainees.

Myanmar has been trapped in a cycle of violence since the army ousted Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February 2021, detaining her and thousands of activists and launching a bloody crackdown on protests and dissent.

The ASEAN has been leading diplomatic efforts to resolve the turmoil that has gripped Myanmar since the military seized power last year.

Reports said Myanmar's junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing, was not invited to the ASEAN Summit.—LDF, GMA News