Philippines, Singapore call for peaceful resolution of sea dispute

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Singapore yesterday called for a peaceful resolution to the South China Sea dispute as they vowed to bring their more than five-decades-old bilateral relationship to “a new trajectory.”

Speaking after his bilateral meeting with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at Malacañang, Marcos noted that the South China Sea holds great importance to both the Philippines and Singapore as geographical neighbors in Southeast Asia.

“So, we look forward to the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to maintain and to promote peace, security, and stability in the region as well as our strong support (to) the peaceful resolution of any such disputes,” the Philippine leader said.

Shanmugaratnam described the South China Sea as an “extremely important issue” and reiterated Singapore’s support for freedom of navigation and adherence to international law.

“Singapore’s position of course is well known. We consistently upheld the rights of all states to freedom of navigation and overflight and strongly supported the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law including the 1982 UN (United Nations) Convention of the Law of the Sea or UNLCOS,” he said.

“That’s fundamental. UNCLOS has to be the legal framework within which all the activities in the oceans and seas are carried out.”

The two leaders made the remarks exactly a week after two aircraft from China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force dropped flares in the path of a Philippine Air Force aircraft on routine maritime patrol over the Panatag Shoal, known internationally as Scarborough Shoal.

Stronger ties

At a joint press conference after their bilateral meeting, Marcos and Shanmugaratnam expressed confidence that the bilateral ties between their countries would further strengthen.

“The Philippines remains optimistic in fostering closer and enhanced cooperation with Singapore in existing areas such as defense and security, trade and investment and new areas such as sustainability and in energy,” Marcos said, noting that memoranda of understanding (MOUs) in health and maritime security are in the pipeline and are seen to be finalized in the “very near future.”

Marcos also welcomed the signing of an MOU on defense cooperation by the two countries last July.

Shanmugaratnam said the Philippines and Singapore are eyeing cooperation in areas health care, environment, carbon credits and infrastructure.

New deals

Marcos and Shanmugaratnam witnessed the exchange of two agreements aimed at boosting their countries’ bilateral ties.

The Memorandum of Understanding for Collaboration on Carbon Credits Under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement between the Philippines’ environment department and Singapore’s trade ministry seeks to provide incentives to persons and industries who actively work to cut their carbon footprint. The deal will also allow the government to mobilize financial resources to boost fiscal space.

The Memorandum of Understanding on the Recruitment of Filipino Healthcare Workers, meanwhile, aims to strike a balance between the needs of the health care sector of both countries and the need for personal development and growth of health care workers.

“Through this MOU, we express our confidence in Singapore’s legal and judicial system, which will ensure that the rights, welfare, and well-being of our kababayan OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) will be protected as they pursue their careers in Singapore,” Marcos said.

The leader of Southeast Asia’s most progressive nation also expressed admiration for Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo, who bagged two gold medals during the recently concluded Paris Olympics.