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Philippine Foreign Minister Locsin announced that the Philippines would not accept China’s request as a kind of Western power, including the United States, from the South China Sea.
“I have assured the West that by implementing the code of conduct, we will never implement what China is asking for, which is to get the western powers out of the South China Sea,” said Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro. Locsin Jr. said at a budget hearing in the House of Representatives on Sept. 21. “I will never allow that to happen. I guarantee that the Western powers will be present in the South China Sea as a balancer.”
The statement came days after the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines issued a statement urging ASEAN countries to resist external “interference” in the drafting of the South China Sea (COC) Code of Conduct, while the secretary US state minister Mike Pompeo previously urged Southeast Asian countries not to let China “rule.”
“We believe in the balance of power, that the freedom of the Filipinos depends on the balance of power in the South China Sea,” Locsin said.
Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin Jr. at a press conference in Davao City in 2018. Photo: Rappler.
According to the Philippine Foreign Minister, although some countries claim sovereignty in the South China Sea, only Manila and Beijing are in real conflict as China continues to act aggressively to assert its vast and unfounded claim to sovereignty. Legal and historical, according to the 2016 International Court of Arbitration. That is why ASEAN members are negotiating a set of rules to ensure peace and stability on this volatile waterway.
The Foreign Ministers of the ASEAN countries issued a joint declaration on August 8 on the importance of maintaining peace and stability in Southeast Asia. This is the first time that ASEAN ministers have issued a separate statement on the issue of regional peace and security on the occasion of the 53rd anniversary of ASEAN.
Consequently, the Association reaffirms its commitment to maintain a peaceful, safe, neutral and stable Southeast Asia, while reinforcing peaceful values based on international law; The Declaration also identifies the main principles and guidelines to help ASEAN adapt to fluctuations, increasing competition in the region and the world, and thus continue to strengthen solidarity and central role.
Flee him (According to the Investigator, Rappler)
