28 January 2015 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario called on ASEAN to respond to China’s continuing reclamation activities in the South China Sea during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat in Kota Kinabalu.

 “The massive reclamation issue presents a strategic policy dilemma for ASEAN,” the Secretary said. “Our inaction on this would undermine the principle of centrality, since we are unable to address in a unified and collective way such a critical issue in our own backyard.”

Because the massive reclamation developments threaten peace, stability and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, Secretary Del Rosario urged ASEAN as a regional force “to consider reaching out to the responsible international community to say to China that what it is doing is wrong – that it must stop its reclamation activities at once.”

The Retreat is the first meeting under Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2015, which bears the theme “Our People, Our Community, Our Vision”. In addition to launching the ASEAN Community by 31 December 2015, ASEAN will also develop its Post-2015 Vision and seek to increase public awareness of the organization during the year.

Aside from the Code of Conduct (COC), the Philippines’ priorities in ASEAN for 2015 include: good governance and human rights; women’s empowerment, including their increased economic participation through small and medium enterprises (SMEs); and cooperation to address environmental threats through the Philippines-based ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB). END