Marcos: Timor-Leste backing PH's adherence to UNCLOS

President Ferdinand "Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Friday said Timor Leste has expressed support for the Philippines' adherence to international law, specifically the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Marcos made the remark during the joint press statement with Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta. The two leaders had a bilateral meeting to strengthen ties between the two nations.

"It is with gratitude that we also have received the expressions of support from the President for the Philippines in terms of the rules-- our adherence to a rules-based international law, to UNCLOS,'' Marcos said.

''Of all the different issues that we are facing, geopolitical issues that we are facing around the world, the, once again, the experience of the President has shown what the Philippines can do to further our discussion and argument as to the continued adherence of all parties to a rules-based system and international law. And for that, I thank him very much," he added.

There have been continuing aggressions in the South China Sea, particularly with regard to the Philippines’ assertion of sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea.

China has since claimed the region nearly in its entirety, but the arbitral tribunal in The Hague invalidated this claim on July 12, 2016 following a case filed by the Philippines in 2013.

Social security agreement

Meanwhile, Marcos also said that during their meeting, they discussed the establishment of a social security agreement "to be a safety net for both our countries' professionals working in each other's country.''

The two countries also vowed to strengthen educational cooperation as well as increase student exchanges.

Marcos said his Timorese counterpart would be adopted as an honorary Filipino.

''He is a good friend of the Philippines and I'm happy to note that this visit of the President is not the first visit that he has made. It is one of many visits that he has made to the Philippines,'' Marcos said.

At the start of the bilateral meeting, Marcos expressed hope that Ramos-Horta's visit in the Philippines would be the beginning of more exchanges between the two countries.

"The Philippines has always been very supportive of, not only the process of independence that East Timor went through, but also for your involvement in international relations and international events and issues that we feel are necessary for us to be able to come together and for us to be able to make a difference and to maintain the peace and the stability in our region, especially in these rather difficult times that we are facing," Marcos said.

The President mentioned that Ramos-Horta had invited him to visit Timor-Leste.

"We would certainly want to do that to, as I said, continue to expand the relations between Timor-Leste and the Philippines," Marcos said.

For his part, Ramos-Horta recalled the Philippines' role during Timor-Leste's critical years.

"You dispatched to Timor Leste, with other countries in the region like Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and others under the Security Council mandate, so the Philippines was very prominent there through the beginning of our independence, and you have been among the very first countries to support our aspiration to join ASEAN," Ramos-Horta said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News