Manila: Asean will be more relevant – Duterte
THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will become as relevant as the European Union (EU) and other regional blocs in the coming years, President Rodrigo Duterte said.
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Ahead of his hosting of the Asean summit this month, Duterte admitted that the 10-nation bloc, founded 50 years ago at the height of the Cold War, was a tiny, if not insignificant, voice on the world stage.
“Well, everybody’s dream, including Asean leaders, is really to come up with a cohesive partnership. If the European Union can do it, why can’t we? And in the coming year, we will be discussing more along these lines of making Asean more relevant to the times, being counted [in],” Duterte said.
“It’s coming, it’s just around the corner, barring any trouble,” Duterte added.
“Hindi naman tayo binibilang kasi e. (Our voice doesn’t really count). You have the European [Union], [Great] Britain, Germany [led by Angela]Merkel, and all. But little, if at all, is being listened to on our front,” Duterte said.
Asean is composed of the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore,
Thailand and Brunei. Dialogue partners include Japan, South Korea, China, the EU, the United States and Canada.
Duterte said Asean will have to work on attaining the status of the 28-member EU wherein 19 countries use a single currency: the euro.
Tensions with China ease
On Tuesday, China and Asean members held their largest-ever joint maritime rescue exercise, signalling a lull in South China Sea tensions.
The drill simulated a collision between a Chinese passenger ship and a Cambodian cargo vessel off south China’s Guangdong province.
It involved about 1,000 rescuers aboard 20 ships and three helicopters, according to reports in Chinese state media late Tuesday.
China, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Brunei took part, with Vietnam notably absent.
The exercise followed meetings between the Chinese and Singaporean defense ministers on the sidelines of the 11th Asean Defense Ministers’ Meeting in the Philippines last month.
China asserts sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea in the face of rival claims from its Southeast Asian neighbors – including four Asean members. It has rapidly reclaimed reefs, creating artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.
Disputes have sometimes spilt over into confrontations as vessels from the competing countries spar over fishing grounds and resource extraction.
But lately some have eased their opposition to China’s claims.
Last year, a UN-backed tribunal, ruling on an application by the Philippines, rejected Beijing’s claims to most of the South China Sea.
Yet President Duterte has refused to use the decision as leverage, softening his predecessor’s policy in favor of billions of dollars in trade and investment from the mainland.
Vietnam, however, has continued to deliver sharp rebukes.
In June, a meeting between Vietnamese and Chinese generals over border issues was abruptly cancelled, with both sides citing a sudden scheduling conflict.
Taiwan – which is not an Asean member – also claims almost the entire area, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas reserves.
Courtesy: The Manila Times | BY LLANESCA T. PANTI, TMT ON
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