04 January 2016 – The Philippine Embassy in Ankara welcomed four Turkish students from different universities in Istanbul on 14 December 2015 to brief them on the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea maritime dispute.  The briefing is part of the Embassy’s efforts to engage Turkish citizens and increase their awareness on the major security issues faced by the Philippines and the region. 

Misses Ayse Çakiray of Yeditepe University in Istanbul, Aycan Gölgeci of Marmara University, Ilkay Kivanç and Hatice Bϋsra Tϋrk of Istanbul University, came to the Embassy for a briefing on the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea issue as part of their fact-finding efforts for a research paper that the group is currently doing as part of their internship under the School of Leadership and Government at Bahçeşehir University, another university in Istanbul.  The visit was endorsed by Director-General Ersin Erçin, Director-General for Asia and the Pacific of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the students were accompanied by Mr. Akif Talha Tuğcu, Third Secretary of the Directorate General for Bilateral Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, who also participated in the briefing. 

Philippine Ambassador Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez, Minister and Consul General Robert Ferrer, Jr. and Third Secretary and Vice Consul Ericka Anna Abad conducted the briefing.  The Embassy officials presented the students with a brief background on the maritime dispute and highlighted the Philippine Government’s guiding principles to the issue: peaceful settlement of disputes and primacy of the rule of law.  This was followed by an interactive discussion where the students raised questions on the subject matter.  END