Philippines – At ASEAN Ministerial Meetings RP to tap ASEAN in Addressing National Challenges under New Administration

The Philippines will participate in the upcoming ministerial meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vietnam where it will seek support from, and work together with ASEAN, in addressing national challenges under a new leadership.

The 43rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC) and 17th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) will be the first major international conference at the foreign minister’s level under the Aquino administration.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo will lead the Philippine delegation to the meetings to be held on 19-23 July in Ha Noi, Vietnam. Vietnam, which currently holds the chairmanship of ASEAN, has adopted the theme, “Towards an ASEAN Community, From Vision to Action”.

“The Philippine Government will pursue the vision of President Aquino as expressed in his inaugural speech, for the Philippines to be ‘a nation serious about its commitments and which harmonizes its national interests with its international responsibilities’,” Secretary Romulo said.

President Aquino also stressed the important role economic diplomacy will play in “creating jobs at home so that there will be no need to look for employment abroad” and in making the Philippines “a predictable and consistent place for investment”.

“The Philippines looks forward to seeking support from and working together with ASEAN and its dialogue partners in addressing national challenges to promote trade and investment, achieve international competitiveness, and attain greater social equity and justice,” Secretary Romulo added.

During the meetings, the Philippine delegation will push for the country’s interests in four key areas – economic cooperation, disaster management, political and security cooperation and human rights – which are in line with the foreign policy priorities laid down by President Aquino.

At the meeting of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers on 19-20 July, among the key initiatives of the Philippines are as follows:

1. Reaping the benefits of Free Trade Areas (FTAs)

With the completion of several ASEAN FTAs with its Dialogue Partners namely, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as the Trade in Goods component with India, tremendous opportunities for the people of ASEAN are presented in order to gain economic growth and prosperity.

“The FTAs provide access to an enlarged and efficient market for the Philippines to facilitate trade based on comparative advantage and lower costs. They can also open up employment opportunities for Filipinos through the services component, as well as needed revenue for the government through investments,” Secretary Romulo stated.

2. Promotion of Human Rights

Under the Aquino administration, the Philippines is committed to strengthen mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the country, within the ASEAN region, and in the international community.

“As the country will endeavor to once again be the champion of human rights, the country will reiterate its offer to locate the Secretariat headquarters in Manila,” he added.

Moreover, the Philippines will actively participate in the implementation of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) Work Plan 2010-2015, especially the identified high priority programs and activities for 2010-2011, which will complement the building of an ASEAN community.

3. Disaster Management

The Philippines and other ASEAN countries experienced devastation and loss due to typhoons, earthquakes and other disasters during the previous year. In its continuing efforts to mitigate disasters and risks, the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM), which the Philippines currently chairs, adopted and launched the AADMER Work Programme for 2010-2015.

The Philippines led the ACDM towards the crafting of the Establishment Agreement for the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Center). A fully operational AHA Center is hoped to be launched in Jakarta in 2011.

4. ASEAN Connectivity

The Philippines believes that connectivity will spur economic growth and tourism, especially through the development of a nautical highway and the prioritization of high impact flagship projects until 2015 through close cooperation and support from the private sector. The country calls on the private sector to partner with ASEAN on this very important initiative.

In particular, the Philippines is pushing for the development of an “ASEAN Roll-on/Roll-off (RO-RO) Network” to promote intra- and inter-island connectivity among the archipelagic economies of ASEAN.

The 2010 Asian Development Bank (ADB) RORO study suggests that, “there is strong evidence to support the long-distance regional RO-RO routes. There are indications that these nautical highways may be a viable alternative to promote regional connectivity and economic integration.” This will be included in the drafting of the ASEAN Strategic Transport Plan for 2011-2015.

Other examples of high impact flagship measures include tourism initiatives such as cruise tourism, visa relaxation policies, and packaging and promotion of ASEAN Heritage Circuits, which, will also be included in the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan.

“Telecommunications is the fastest and most efficient medium of connecting ASEAN. Focus will also be given on plans that would pave the way for universal access to broadband services through the strengthening of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and online digital content,” Secretary Romulo stated.

5. Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC)

Canada and Turkey are expected to formally accede to the TAC at the sidelines of the meetings. The accession of Canada and Turkey is expected to boost political-security cooperation in Southeast Asia, given their active and constructive role in international affairs.

Meanwhile, at the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Foreign Ministers Meeting, the Philippines will highlight the importance of establishing the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) with its partners from the Plus Three countries, namely, China, Japan, and Korea, as soon as possible.

“This is to safeguard our food security issues in the region. We will also work on fully harnessing the potential of our relations with the Plus Three countries by exploring ways of utilizing the ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Fund (APTCF) through projects that would address the Philippines’ key issues of disaster management, food security, and sustainable development,” Secretary Romulo explained.

The Philippines, as the current Country Coordinator for ASEAN-US Dialogue Relations, will hold a session with the United States to be co-Chaired by Secretary Romulo and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The session will review the current achievements of the ASEAN-US cooperation, as well as note the progress of the preparations of the outcomes of the forthcoming 2nd ASEAN-U.S. Leaders’ Meeting scheduled later this year.

For other Dialogue Partners, new Plans of Action on cooperation will be either adopted or reviewed with Canada, China, European Union, India, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand.

For Russia, plans will be pushed forward for the convening of the 2nd ASEAN-Russia Summit, while ASEAN and Ministers of Australia and New Zealand are expected to agree to convene the two Dialogue Partners’ respective summits with ASEAN this year.

Finally, the Philippines believes that ARF activities on emerging transnational security issues will require collective efforts from the countries in the region. These issues include natural disasters, terrorism, pandemic diseases, biological threats, piracy, drug trafficking, arms smuggling, among others.

“Natural disasters are a major security challenge for the country. In this regard, the Philippines strongly supports regional cooperation and coordination in disaster relief by contributing to various ARF activities aimed at strengthening national and regional capacity to rapidly and effectively respond to disasters,” Secretary Romulo said.

Terrorism, in particular biosecurity and bioterrorism, is a serious threat to the security of the Philippines and its neighbours. The ARF offers the Philippines the opportunity to work with other countries in addressing these issues.

The recent outbreaks of pandemic diseases such as SARS and A(H1N1) exhibited a very strong case that biosecurity should be a priority issue for the country. In this regard, the Philippines is assuming the role as a lead country coordinator in this area of cooperation in the ARF.

“These activities present the Philippines the opportunity to contribute and gain benefits in ensuring that the health and security of the peoples are protected against biological threats. The Philippines looks forward to the Meetings next week and will work towards consolidating our gains from ASEAN for the benefit of our country and its citizens,” the DFA Secretary added.