By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
In a pre-departure briefing on Friday, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Spokesperson Angelica Escalona announced the attendance of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.
The Summit will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from October 26-28, where Marcos is set to engage in high-level talks with the heads of other ASEAN member states to discuss matters of mutual interest such as peace and security, maritime cooperation, economic integration, people-to-people connectivity, and climate change.
At the briefing, Escalona noted that the President will participate in 14 leaders-level meetings, with 80 outcome documents that are also expected to be issued, adopted, or noted during the summits.
On top of possible bilateral meetings with his counterparts at the sidelines of the summits, Marcos will also partake in three signing ceremonies during the three-day event, which are:
Declaration on the admission of Timor-Leste into ASEAN as its 11th Member
Signing of the second protocol to amend the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA)
ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade
Meanwhile, Escalona responded to various queries from the media regarding the involvement of China and the United States in the three-day summit, with the former being a highlight in the free trade agreement (FTA) and the latter manifesting in the attendance of U.S. President Donald Trump at the event.
The DFA mouthpiece said of the Philippines’ commitment towards resolving tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), “As the incoming chair, the Philippines will work with ASEAN member states and China for the [formulation of] an effective, substantive, and legally binding code of conduct in the South China Sea. WPS is not the sum total of our relations with China.”
She expounded some aspects of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, which is expected to create green and digital economies, as well as empower micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), “We do cooperate with China on other areas, including the economic pillar of ASEAN. Itong ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, it is considered as one of the most important economic partnerships of ASEAN—by upgrading it, it will become more comprehensive and aligned to global realities.”
Escalona, meanwhile, declined to comment on the attendance of the U.S. president at the Summit, instead advising the press to wait for a statement from senior officials at the three-day event.
A handover ceremony officiating Malaysia’s handover of the ASEAN chairship to the Philippines is also expected to take place on October 28, the last day of the 47th ASEAN Summit.
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