Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert
del Rosario and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have emphasised
the importance of peacefully resolving disputes between countries.
Del
Rosario and Ban, who met at UN headquarters in New York on Friday, also
discussed Philippine initiatives, particularly the country’s promotion of
mediation as a means of conflict resolution.
"We
believe in highlighting the importance of instruments for the peaceful
settlement of disputes,” Del Rosario told Ban.
He said
these initiatives were particularly important to the Philippines given its
current standoff with China over the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West
Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
He said
the Philippines had led efforts in the UN to mark the 30th anniversary of the
adoption of the 1982 Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes
through a General Assembly resolution calling on states to “promote and observe
in good faith” the historic declaration.
Ban
congratulated the Philippines “for actively promoting the peaceful settlement
of disputes through its commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the historic
Manila Declaration.”
The
secretary general also welcomed the new Philippine-initiated resolution on the
Manila Declaration.
Del
Rosario said the resolution was approved by consensus at a recent session of
the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations. It is up for adoption at the Sixth Committee
and the General Assembly.
Del
Rosario and Ban also discussed the convening of high level meetings on
mediation this month and on the rule of law in September.
The UN
chief lauded the Philippines for its role in promoting mediation and for its
contribution to the report on mediation that he was preparing for release in
July.
"I
hope that our work on promoting mediation will build on the groundwork already
laid by the Manila Declaration,” Ban said, adding that “preventing conflict is
one of my five priority agendas in the UN.”
He
agreed on the importance of mediation as one of the viable means of peacefully
settling disputes.
"These
are crucial in today’s world…these efforts should translate into greater
respect for the peaceful settlement of disputes and the rule of law,” Del
Rosario said.
Del
Rosario reiterated that the Philippine government remained committed to a
peaceful solution of its territorial dispute with China over Panatag Shoal
based on the UN Charter, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and international
law.
"We
believe that the unfolding events are of great interest to all nations, as they
have a stake in the peace and stability of this economically and politically
strategic area," he said.
Philip
C. Tubeza
Philippine
Daily Inquirer
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
Dear
Reader,
May I
invite you to visit our new blog: IIMS-Asean http://iims-asean.blogspot.com/
News
and activities of the International Institute of Medicine and Science Asean
Chapter of IIMS, Inc. California, USA - Health care, Life Science, Education,
Research, Philanthropy. Asean is the economic organisation of ten countries
located in South East Asia: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. IIMS is a
non-profit organization.
No comments:
Post a Comment