MANILA – Manila on Tuesday said it would continue finding a peaceful solution to the disputed West Philippine (South China) Sea.
Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the country’s approach is to push for a peaceful solution through diplomatic means.
“They’re looking at it from a strictly military point of view and that’s not where we’re coming from. We’re coming from a perspective where we believe that a diplomatic peaceful solution can be achieved. And that’s what we’ve been hammering on and that’s what we believe in, and that’s the position we will continue to maintain,” he said.
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said he will meet with his ASEAN counterparts in order to discuss the West Philippine Sea issue.
His visit has been scheduled in the wake of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Cambodia held last week, in which the participants failed to agree on a solution to the dispute between China and the Philippines on territorial claims.
“I will visit the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia to discuss with my counterparts about their stance on South China Sea issue,” Marty said in Jakarta.
He pointed out that the failure of ASEAN to issue a joint statement on the issue could undermine the organization. “How can ASEAN take the central role in the region if we don`t have the same stance on certain issues,” Marty said.
For the first time, ever since the ASEAN was established 45 years ago, the organization has failed to issue a joint statement. This can set back the establishment of a proposed Code of Conduct on West Philippines Sea in the future.
However, the United States’ Ambassador to ASEAN, David Carden, said the ASEAN`s failure to issue a joint statement in Cambodia was part of the “organization’s evolutionary process”.
“There`s always problem in a community. We see this as a part of the process of ASEAN becoming more mature as an organization,” he said.
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