Del Rosario to push for rule of law in ASEAN meeting

MANILA, Philippines - Amid a bitter territorial dispute with China, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario is set to attend on Saturday the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, where he is expected to talk about the Philippines's advocacy of the rule of law.

Foreign ministers of other ASEAN countries are expected to discuss a number of topics that include regional and international issues, guidelines and future directions for ASEAN's external relations, climate change, disaster management and transnational crime, food and energy security, small and medium enterprises, and human rights issues.

China is embroiled in a dispute with the Philippines, Vietnam and other ASEAN countries over territories in the South China Sea, which it claims through an expansive nine-dash line. The Philippines has challenged China's claim at the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.

On Tuesday, the Philippine National Police took into custody 11 Chinese fishermen whose vessel in the disputed Half Moon Shoal was found with about 350 endangered green sea turtles. China demanded the release of the fishermen, but Philippine authorities refused the appeal, citing the need to investigate the fishermen.

Aside from the AMM, del Rosario will also attend the 11th ASEAN Political-Security Community Council Meeting and the 14th Meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council. The meetings are part of the preparations for the 24th ASEAN Summit which will officially begin on May 11, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.