Secretary Locsin Leads PH Delegation to 52nd AMM, Related Meetings
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. led officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meetings (AMM) and Related Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand from 27 July to 02 August 2019.
Over the four-day period, the Philippine delegation attended more than 30 engagements, during which Secretary Locsin reaffirmed the country’s commitment to upholding the Filipino people’s interests in the ASEAN Community.
On the 52nd AMM
Under Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship theme of “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability,” the ASEAN Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to ASEAN Community-building and achieving the various deliverables under Thailand’s chairmanship, including the ASEAN Leaders’ Vision Statement on Partnership for Sustainability and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, which were adopted at the just-concluded 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok.
At the AMM Retreat Session which followed the Plenary Session, Foreign Ministers discussed regional and international issues of common concern to ASEAN Member States, including the call for the conclusion of the negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) this year and the importance of adapting to technological advancements in preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
In his intervention, Secretary Locsin underscored the Philippines’ commitment to the ASEAN Chair’s deliverables for this year and called for ASEAN to push forward more ideas and initiatives while ensuring ASEAN centrality and maintaining ASEAN’s role as the main driver of regional architecture. “ASEAN is ours; let’s keep it ours. The only hegemony we should recognize is our associated own,” Secretary Locsin emphasized.
The Foreign Ministers also adopted the Joint Communique of the 52nd AMM, a negotiated text which reflects common concerns and aspirations of ASEAN Member States, as well as recognizes the efforts made since the last AMM in 2018.
On Post Ministerial Conferences
Secretary Locsin and the members of the Philippine delegation likewise participated in the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) 10+1 Sessions with ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners, during which the ASEAN Foreign Ministers met in individual sessions their counterparts from Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America.
The Ministers reviewed with ASEAN and individual Dialogue Partners the progress in their overall relations and cooperation achieved over the past year as called for by their respective Plans of Actions. ASEAN and Dialogue Partner Ministers discussed ways to move forward and further strengthen the partnerships.
Noting that Plans of Action (POA) between ASEAN and seven Dialogue Partners will come to an end next year, the Ministers tasked the Committee of Permanent Representatives and counterpart Dialogue Partner Missions in Jakarta to start drafting new POAs.
The Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) 10 + 1 likewise provided a platform for the ASEAN Ministers and their counterpart Dialogue Partner Ministers to have frank exchanges of views on regional and international issues.
This year’s ASEAN + China Post Ministerial Conference marks the first for the Philippines as country coordinator for ASEAN-China Dialogue relations after the hand-over of this role by Singapore last year.
Highlighting the Post Ministerial Conferences were the Launching Ceremony of ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship on 31 July 2019, and the Launching Ceremony of the ASEAN-Australia Counter-Trafficking (ASEAN-ACT) Initiative on 1 August 2019.
On Other Related Meetings
On 02 August 2019, Secretary Locsin attended the 20th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the 9th East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and the 26th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
At the 20th APT Foreign Ministers' Meeting, Secretary Locsin reaffirmed the strategic role of the APT framework in promoting peace, security, stability and prosperity in East Asia. The Secretary thanked Thailand for the initiative to establish a website to serve as the APT communication platform and its efforts to strengthen connectivity cooperation. The importance of addressing trade protectionism and strengthening the rules-based multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization were also highlighted. With total trade between ASEAN and the Plus Three countries exceeding USD 800 billion per year, or more than a third of ASEAN's total trade, Secretary Locsin urged fellow Ministers to support the timely conclusion of the RCEP agreement by year-end and realize its economic benefits.
At the 9th EAS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the foreign ministers of ASEAN Members States and EAS Participating Countries reviewed the Progress Report on the Implementation of the Manila Plan of Action (POA) to Advance the Phnom Penh Declaration on the EAS Development Initiative (2018-2022) and discussed the future direction of EAS cooperation. They exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern and discussed preparations for the 14th EAS Summit which will be held in Bangkok on 04 November 2019.
Prior to the EAS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the EAS Senior Officials’ Meeting was held in Bangkok on 30 July 2019.
At the 26th ARF, the Foreign Ministers had frank and candid discussions on regional strategic and political-security issues of common concern including the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula, and the situation in the Rakhine State. Secretary Locsin highlighted ASEAN centrality in discussions on the evolving regional security architecture, noting ASEAN’s vital role as the fulcrum on which this regional architecture balances. The Forum issued three joint statements on the following priority initiatives: Aviation Security; Women, Peace and Security; and Violent Extremism Conducive to Terrorism. The Meeting also approved a list of capacity-building activities for ARF inter-sessional year 2019-2020.
The ASEAN Foreign Ministers also witnessed the accession of Peru to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC). END