Palace: Duterte to reiterate ‘principled position’ on South China Sea at ASEAN Summit

President Rodrigo Duterte will reiterate the Philippines’ “principled position” on the South China Sea issue, Malacañang said Tuesday, ahead of the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and meetings with leaders of powerhouse nations in the Asia Pacific in Singapore.

Duterte will participate in the ASEAN plenary session later Tuesday and the 10-member regional bloc’s separate engagements with its dialogue partners including China, Russia, Japan and the United States set for Wednesday and Thursday.

“The President will reiterate the Philippines’ principled positions on matters concerning the South China Sea and transnational and transboundary issues such as terrorism, violent extremism, trafficking in persons, illicit drugs and disaster risk reduction and management,” Malacañang said in a statement.

The Palace did not elaborate on the points to be tackled by Duterte about the tensions in the South China Sea as Beijing continued to face scrutiny over its reported deployment of military aircraft and installation of anti-ship cruise missiles, surface-to-air missile systems and weather observation facilities on Manila-claimed reefs.

Duterte has chosen to seek stronger economic and trade ties with China, the world’s second biggest economy, instead of flaunting Manila’s victory over Beijing in the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in July 2016 which declared as illegal China's claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.

The President, however, promised to raise the ruling with China during his term which ends in June 2022.

ASEAN and China are still negotiating for a code of conduct in the disputed waterway, a process Chinese Premier Li Keqiang hoped would be completed in three years, and that such a deal would bolster free trade.

During the summits, the Palace said the Philippines is also looking forward to “exchanging views on ASEAN community-building as well as discussions on regional and global developments that impact regional peace, security and stability.”

After Singapore, Duterte will fly to Papua New Guinea to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea for the 19th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting on November 17 to 18.

At APEC, the Palace said the President will work with the leaders of the 21-nation grouping to affirm the multilateral trading system and uphold the role of APEC as the forum for addressing issues, leveraging on the region’s economic growth and pursuing open markets.

Duterte will also rally support for micro, small and medium enterprises through continued development and facilitating their access to the global marketplace.

The President will also meet with the Filipino community in Papua New Guinea.

“In the Philippines’ engagements with ASEAN and APEC, the President will continue to strive to pursue goals and aspirations shared with stakeholders in the region and beyond to secure for our peoples a better quality of life, and for our nations, a more productive partnership,” Malacañang said. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News