PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 1, 2013) – The Department of Foreign Affairs has urged students in Mindanao to take part in promoting Philippine foreign policy.
It said just recently, Cecilia Rebong, Chief Coordinator of the DFA, held a lecture at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City and interacted with some 400 Muslim and Christian students as part of a program for the youth to have a greater understanding and appreciation of the agency’s role in nation-building.
The lecture focused on the three pillars of Philippine foreign policy and how these pillars are promoted by the DFA. Rebong enumerated to the students the various programs and activities of the DFA in advancing the the preservation, enhancement and promotion of national security, particularly the value of the rule of law in peacefully settling disputes.
She cited the South China Sea issue and thoroughly explained this by using maps and diagrams. Te government now calls the area the West Philippine Sea.
Rebong highlighted the choice of arbitration by the Philippines as an open, friendly and durable approach in clarifying what belongs to the countryand defining its access to own natural resources within the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
She emphasized the benefits arbitration will give to all nations citing that it will reinforce unimpeded commerce and will do away with the threat to freedom of navigation in the region, a vital route for regional and global trade.
Rebong likewise cited that the DFA plays an important role in securing other countries’ support for the peace process in Mindanao.
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