Pres. Jokowi: Philippines, Indonesia vowed to improve talks on delimitation of continental shelf

BOGOR, Indonesia — The Philippines and Indonesia have agreed to improve negotiations regarding the delimitation of continental shelf, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Monday.

President Jokowi met with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. at the Istana Bogor as one of the highlights of the latter’s state visit here.

“We also commit to accelerate negotiations on the delimitation of continental shelf based on UNCLOS 1982,” President Jokowi said in his statement.

The Philippines and Indonesia are parties to the 1982 UNCLOS and are entitled to an EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zones) of 200 nautical miles.

In 2019, the Philippines and Indonesia inked the Protocols of Exchange of the instruments of ratification concerning the delimitation of the EEZ between the two countries at the sidelines of the 52nd Association of South East Asian Nations ministerial meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Department of Foreign Affairs had said the deal aimed to promote more bilateral cooperation in the EEZ to advance the common interest of managing and preserving the resources in the EEZ.

This will also strengthen maritime security cooperation between the two countries, according to the DFA.

Strengthening ASEAN

Marcos and President Jokowi also tackled measures on how to improve the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the enforcement of the ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

“I underlined the importance of strengthening ASEAN centrality and unity,” President Jokowi said.

“Indonesia wishes to ensure that ASEAN remains an engine of peace, stability, peace and prosperity in the region. ASEAN  must be able to address the challenges ahead and strengthen respect for the ASEAN Charter,” he added.

Marcos, for his part, said the ASEAN plays a lead agent in the changes that the Philippines and Indonesia would like to see in order to bring peace to their countries. — RSJ, GMA News