Pinas, mas pinili ang mapayapang resolusyon sa alitan sa SCS -PBBM

NANANATILI si Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa kanyang posisyon na plantsahin sa pamamagitan ng mapayapang resolusyon ang territorial dispute sa South China Sea (SCS) kasama ang China at Iba pang claimants.

Sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos kina Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong at Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sa magkahiwalay na pakikipagpulong sa Hanoi na nais ng Pilipinas na kagyat na matugunan ang maritime row sa pamamagitan ng mapayapang dayalogo at konsultasyon.

“On regional and international issues, the South China Sea remains to be a point of contention,” ayon kay Pangulong Marcos.

“We are firm in defending our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction against these Chinese provocations. But at the same time, we are also seeking to address these issues with China and all other partners through peaceful dialogue and consultations as two equal sovereign states,” dagdag na wika nito.

Dismayado naman ang Chief Executive sa “unilateral and illegal actions that violate our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, and exacerbate tensions” ng China sa SCS.

Ikinalungkot naman niya ang agresibong aksyon ng Tsina na nauwi sa insidente sangkot ang Chinese at Philippine vessels.

Sa kabila nito, tiniyak ng Pangulo na ang posisyon ng Pilipinas sa isyu ng SCS “has been consistent, clear, and firmly anchored in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

“As a maritime nation, we share a similar assessment of the current state of our regional environment with other maritime nations of the Asia-Pacific. Our countries have crucial roles to play in shaping the regional security discourse and in upholding the rules-based international order,” ayon sa Punong Ehekutibo.

“I also wish to stress that the Philippines has an independent foreign policy. The Philippines considers both the United States and China as key actors in maintaining peace and security, as well as economic growth and development of our region,” aniya pa rin.

Binigyang diin ni Pangulo na ang “sailings at air traffic” sa SCS ay dapat na “remain free” para sa malaking halaga ng kalakalan na dumadaan sa naturang katubigan.

At dahil na rin sa patuloy na interest ng Vietnam na magsagawa ng Joint Submission on Extended Continental Shelf to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), winika ng Pangulo na handa ang Pilipinas na maktrabaho ang nasabing bansa sa joint submission subalit “sa tamang panahon.”

Committed aniya ang Pilipinas na makatrabaho ang ibang “like-minded” states para matiyak ang rules-based international order sa Asia-Pacific region na may gabay ng international law.

“Our support for ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) centrality and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific as the foremost regional framework and as the architecture for collective peace, stability and prosperity remains steadfast,” anito.

Samantala, nanawagan naman ang Pangulo para sa “long-lasting” resolution ng international conflicts.

Nabanggit ito ng Pangulo dahil na rin sa tumitinding tensyon sa Taiwan Strait, Myanmar, Gaza, Lebanon at Red Sea.

“The Philippines stands ready to work with other countries towards a long-lasting resolution to the conflict in accordance with pertinent UN (United Nations) Security Council Resolutions and the general principles of international law,” ayon kay Pangulong Marcos.

Samantala, pinasalamatan naman ng Pangulo ang Vietnam para sa pagsuporta nito sa hangarin ng Pilipinas na masungkit ang pagiging non-permanent member ng UN Security Council para sa taong 2027-2028. (Daris Jose)