Despite its disappointment over the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations’ failure to reach an accord on handling disputes in the West Philippine
Sea, the Philippines is not keen on cutting ties with ASEAN chair Cambodia.
But deputy presidential
spokesperson Abigail Valte said Malacañang is leaving to the Department of
Foreign Affairs on what the Philippines’ next action will be.
“We share the disappointment of
the other foreign ministers. We have seen statements from different foreign
ministers that attended the meeting in Cambodia. I think in 45 years this is
the first time this happened, a communiqué was not issued despite the fact that
Asean had dealt with contentious issues in the past,” Valte said on
government-run dzRB radio.
She said this has prompted the
Philippines to consider its options, but deferred further comment on the matter
to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Asked if the Philippines should
reconsider its ties with Cambodia amid perceptions it is “pro-China,” Valte
indicated this is a remote possibility.
“There are things that can still
be hammered out without going down that road,” she said.
When asked if President Benigno
Aquino III will attend the upcoming ASEAN summit this November, she said he has
not indicated he would back out of it.
“Wala siyang sinabing anything to
the contrary, that he will not (Aquino has not indicated he will back out of
attending the summit),” she said.
On the other hand, Valte said the
Philippines will respect China’s claim that the ASEAN summit was productive.
“We will respect that assessment
in the same way we have our own assessment,” she said.
The ASEAN, with Cambodia holding
the rotating chairmanship, on Friday failed to reach consensus on handling
disputes in the South China Sea.
Cambodia had rejected a
compromise on the wording of a joint communiqué, amid China’s assertiveness in
the disputed waters.
But China said the foreign
ministers’ talks at the ASEAN summit had been “productive.”
The DFA had deplored the
non-issuance of a communiqué at the 45th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting,
saying it was “unprecedented in ASEAN's 45 year of existence.”
In a statement, the DFA also said
the Philippines “takes strong exception” to the statement made by the Chair of
the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting that this will be "the first time
that ASEAN is not able to issue the Joint Communiqué due to bilateral conflict
between some ASEAN Member States and a neighboring country."
Also, the DFA said the competing
claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) involve four ASEAN member
states – the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei – and so this dispute
is not a mere bilateral conflict with a northern neighbor but a multilateral
one.
LBG, GMA News
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