Zubiri to IPU: Stand with PH for rules-based order in WPS

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has appealed to the members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to stand with the Philippines in promoting international rules-based order in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Zubiri delivered the speech, which centered on promoting peace across the globe, last Monday at the IPU General Debate in Geneva, Switzerland. 

“In the Southeast Asian region, we have also gathered parliaments for frank and fruitful discussions on how to strengthen a place, with a shared past and common future, as a zone of peace. However, in the West Philippine Sea, a number of geopolitical analysts have predicted that it could be a major flashpoint in the region,” Zubiri said.

“Let me emphasize that the Philippines has consistently adhered to international rules-based order, ensured freedom of navigation in the area and practiced restraint in dealing with the harassment and provocations of our neighbor in the north. It takes a community of nations to preserve and nurture peace, thus, we appeal to the international community to support and stand firm with us in promoting freedom of navigation and adherence to international rules-based order in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.

The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments with 180 Member Parliaments out of the 193 countries in the world. 

Among its members are China and Indonesia which both have claims in the WPS. 

Zubiri then stressed the importance of dialogue across political and ideological divides.

“Our belief in the power of dialogue is why I urge us all to harness the parliamentary ties that bind us to strengthen the values we share and realize our common dream of all our people living in a world at peace,” he said.

In talking about peace across the globe, Zubiri also extended sympathies to the victims of the recent shooting attack at Crocus City Hall in Russia.

“The raging strifes that dot the world underscore the mission that we parliamentarians should pursue on behalf of mankind. And that is to mount a campaign to pause war, to stop the bloodshed, and end the suffering of innocent civilians whose lives have been disrupted, but whose hopes for peace have not been dashed, by war,” he said.

He highlighted the adverse effects of war on trade, supply chain, and countries with constrained fiscal resources, mounting debt, and no fiscal buffer to weather the crisis.

“In the midst of these uncertainties, I strongly believe that the IPU can span trenches of discord and serve as a bridge of peace and understanding. Let me be honest—finding common ground is a mission not for the easily discouraged. But as parliamentarians we have been able, in our halls and in this Union, to break impasse and reach compromise in the past,” he said.

“Through the years, we have subscribed to the IPU’s foundational principle of renouncing war as a foreign policy tool, a belief enshrined in the fundamental law of our land. We come here today to reaffirm our adherence to that tenet,” he added.

Zubiri was joined by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Senators Nancy Binay, Lito Lapid and Pia Cayetano in representing the Philippines at the IPU.—LDF, GMA Integrated News