By Priam Nepomuceno/Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a good example of a regional bloc supporting conflict avoidance and peaceful dispute settlement.
This was pointed out by Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana during the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, 18th Asia Security Summit, which was held in Singapore over the weekend.
“Fortunately, we are not short of good precedence and best practices in our region. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), for instance, provides a fruitful and encouraging example of conflict avoidance and peaceful dispute settlement,” he said in his speech which was forwarded to reporters Monday.
Lorenzana cited as an example the Sabah dispute between Malaysia and the Philippines, and the Ligitan and Sipadan dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia and the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over areas surrounding the Preah Vihear Temple.
“Our approach has been uniquely ASEAN-centered: manage and resolve the disputes through peaceful dialogue, diplomatic negotiations, and fidelity to international norms and principles,” the DND chief pointed out.
ASEAN, Lorenzana pointed out, is a disparate grouping of among the most diverse nations, and yet stands as proud and enduring example of willful, sincere and successful inter-state conflict management, which has and should serve as an inspiration in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
“Instead of conflict, we opted for various ‘Confidence Building Measures’ and cooperative mechanism to resolve disputes and shared concerns. Think of the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area in the Gulf of Thailand which has allowed both nations to peacefully manage their overlapping claims or the multilateral Malacca Straits Sea Patrol (MSSP). Or the Philippines and Indonesian consensus to settle their maritime border disputes in the overlapping EEZ of the Mindanao and Celebes Sea,” the DND chief stressed.
In the South China Sea where the Philippines is a claimant state, Lorenzana said the country is pushing for a dialogue-based, peaceful, and multilateral approach that takes the interest of all relevant players into consideration in accordance with international law and regional norms and principles.
“As the ASEAN-China country coordinator, the Philippines believes that China, as well as other claimants states, finalize a robust, mutually-beneficial and inclusive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, which would protect the interests of all relevant players as well as preserve freedom of navigation and overflight,” the DND chief disclosed.
In more concrete terms, Lorenzana said joint exploration activities should be considered along with environment protection regimes as this will ensure the equitable, just and lawful exploration usage, sharing of hydrocarbon reserves and preservation and protection of marine resources.
“While bilateral dialogue is essential to maintaining peaceful relations among competing claimant states, particularly China and ASEAN claimants, the South China Sea disputes are an international concern, given the centrality of this body of waters to global trade,” he added.
The IISS Shangri-La Dialogue is Asia’s premier defense summit. It’s a unique meeting where ministers debate the region’s most pressing security challenges, engage in important bilateral talks and come up with fresh solutions together.
Since its launch in 2002, the Dialogue has built confidence and fostered practical security cooperation, by facilitating easy communication and fruitful contact among the region’s most important defense and security policymakers.
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