By Azer Parrocha (PNA)
MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte and other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are scheduled to meet their dialogue partners in the 33rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Singapore from Nov. 13 to 15.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said this will be among the President’s scheduled activities during the ASEAN Summit.
“The 33rd ASEAN Summit in Singapore will be an opportunity for the Philippine government to join in discussions pertaining to the progress of the ASEAN Community blueprints and in bringing ASEAN closer to the realization of a people-centered ASEAN Community,” Panelo said in a statement.
Panelo said the summits in Singapore will give Duterte the chance to witness the progress of ASEAN’s relations with its dialogue partners to foster deeper cooperation on priority areas including peace, security, economy, and overall well-being of Filipinos.
He said Duterte will first take part in the opening ceremony for the second and last summit of ASEAN for this year, after which they will witness a presentation by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council.
He said there will also be a working dinner for the ASEAN leaders to be hosted by Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and an ASEAN Summit Plenary session.
ASEAN leaders will also hold summits with leaders from dialogue partners — Australia, China, Republic of Korea, Russia, and Japan –in the format of the Plus One Summit on Nov. 14.
On Day 2 of the ASEAN Summit, Panelo said participating governments will hold the Second Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit to discuss the progress in the negotiations of the document.
Duterte and other ASEAN leaders will meet with leaders of India and the United States, after which they will attend the ASEAN Plus Three Summit and a 13th East Asia Summit Plenary on Day 3, Panelo said.
Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) bared that the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is one of the issues to be discussed in Singapore’s ASEAN Summit.
“We are quite sure that the South China Sea, as I’ve mentioned before, would be one of those regional developments that would be taken up in the summit,” Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Junever Mahilum-West said in an earlier briefing.
She said the Rohingya and the Korean Peninsula are other issues likely to be brought up in certain meetings during the summit.
Joining Duterte in the ASEAN Summit are Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, Philippine Permanent Representative to ASEAN Elizabeth Buensuceso, and Ambassador of the Philippine embassy in Singapore Joseph del Mar Yap.
Immediately after the ASEAN Summit in Singapore, Duterte will fly to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea to join the Asia-PAcific Economic Cooration (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting slated on Nov. 17 and 18.
