MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines and Myanmar have discussed the West Philippine Sea
(South China Sea) issue and reiterated the importance of the freedom of
navigation and unimpeded commerce in the area, the Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.
The two countries agreed to collaborate on various fields of
cooperation at the conclusion of the 2nd Joint Commission on Bilateral
Cooperation (JCBC) in Manila.
During the two-day second meeting of the JCBC, the DFA said there
were discussions on the West Philippine Sea, particularly the
formulation of a Code of Conduct (COC) that would provide guidelines and
norms by which stakeholders are to conduct themselves in the West
Philippine Sea.
Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin led his country’s delegation to the JCBC from June 14 to15.
DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said the Philippines and Myanmar agreed on the necessity for claimants to abide by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China
Sea (DOC) and to settle disputes peacefully through rules-based regime
in accordance with international law, including the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“They also agreed on the need to forge a Code of Conduct on the
(South China Sea) which would provide guidelines and norms by which
stakeholders are to conduct themselves in the West Philippine Sea,”
Hernandez said.
The relevance of the implementation of the DOC and the usefulness of
the Code of Conduct, which ASEAN and China are discussing in efforts to
preserve peace, stability and unimpeded commerce and freedom of
navigation in the South China Sea, were discussed during the 25th
ASEAN-US Dialogue last month in Manila.
The US called for a legally binding code of conduct to prevent escalation of tension in the disputed area.
China claims the entire South China Sea. Taiwan and four ASEAN members – the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam – also have overlapping claims to the territory.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario
said during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Phnom Penh last
April that the Philippines was pleased that the ASEAN Senior Officials
Meeting (SOM) Working Group was working to identify the main elements of
the regional COC.
Del Rosario said the Philippines believes that the COC must contain
fundamental guidelines by which stakeholder-states are to conduct
themselves in the West Philippine Sea and mechanisms on dispute
settlement, including the appropriate structure for its effective
implementation.
In drafting the COC, he said the two other fundamental elements it
must contain are clarification and segregation of disputed from
non-disputed areas in accordance with international law, including the
UNCLOS; and provisions relating to cooperative activities, as may be
appropriate, for the disputed areas.
The foreign secretary reiterated that the Philippines adheres to the primacy of international law in resolving the disputes.
Del Rosario and his counterpart signed yesterday the agreed minutes
of the second meeting of the JCBC where they reviewed the developments
in bilateral relations with the view of further enhancing friendship and
cooperation between the governments and peoples of the two countries.
They agreed to collaborate in various areas of cooperation such as
political, trade and investment, cultural, agriculture, tourism and law
enforcement.
The 2nd JCBC is a comprehensive ministerial-level political mechanism for the two countries to discuss areas of mutual interest.
On political cooperation, the two countries expressed interest in
establishing the Philippines-Myanmar Parliamentary Friendship
Association to encourage the exchange of visits, information and ideas
between Filipino and Myanmar members of parliament.
Myanmar described the reforms being undertaken toward democratization.
On trade and investment, the two countries agreed to boost the
current low level of trade through organizing and participating in each
other’s trade fairs; exchanging information on specific economic and
investment laws; discussing the creation of a joint trade commission;
and establishing formal contacts between the two countries’ chambers of
commerce.
Both countries reiterated their commitment to implement the 1998
Cultural Cooperation Agreement by concluding an Executive Program on
Cultural Exchanges.
“I trust that after this meeting, follow-throughs will be made so
that by the next JCBC in 2014, a more robust bilateral relationship will
exist between our two countries and people who will benefit from this
cooperative bilateral partnership,” Del Rosario said.
Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar were established on Sept. 29, 1956.
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Pia Lee-Brago | The Philippine Star | June 16, 2012 | Article Link
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