President Marcos to raise West Philippine Sea at Asean Summit in Laos

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos will raise “recent developments” in the West Philippine Sea with fellow world leaders at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane, Laos next week.

The President is attending the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits from Oct. 8 to 11 upon the invitation of Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone.

“The President always champions that (WPS) issue in all of the summits from the very start,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu said at a press briefing at Malacañang yesterday.

“Of course, the recent developments, but I won’t go into the details of that,” Espiritu added.

He said the President would continue to assert the Philippines’ sovereignty and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the WPS in accordance with international laws, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 arbitral award.

There are also possible bilateral meetings between Marcos and the leaders of Canada, New Zealand, Vietnam and Japan on the sidelines of the meetings, Espiritu said.

Asked if Marcos would have a bilateral meeting with China, Espiritu said, “so far, there’s nothing on the table.”

Espiritu said Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden are not expected to attend the summit and would be represented by Chinese Premier Li Qiang and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, respectively.

Espiritu said Luxemburg is also expected to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia on the sidelines of the summit. TAC is one of the principal agreements in ASEAN promoting the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law.

“So, it will be the last country which will be acceding to the TAC,” Espiritu said, adding the document will be signed by Luxemburg’s foreign minister.

Apart from the disputes in South China Sea, the leaders are expected to discuss various international issues, including the situation in Myanmar, Ukraine, the Korean peninsula, Gaza and other geopolitical challenges affecting the Indo-Pacific region, Espiritu said.

He said the leaders are also expected to tackle human trafficking, which he said is a common concern among ASEAN member states.

Marcos, meanwhile, is expected to tackle “issues of mutual concern” with Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during their meeting.

“Of course, this is their first meeting definitely the President will be congratulating him on his assumption as prime minister but they would be discussing other issues of mutual concern of course trade and investment cooperation and defense cooperation,” Espiritu said.