Statement

of

THE HONORABLE TEODORO L. LOCSIN, JR.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs

On the ASEAN-G7 Foreign and Development Ministers Meeting

Liverpool, United Kingdom, 12 December 2021

SESSION 1: G7-ASEAN

Good morning Excellencies.

First, condolences to the world on the passing of Senator Bob Dole. I had the honor to meet this Hero of the Greater War.

This inaugural G7-ASEAN Foreign and Development Ministers’ Meeting acknowledges the importance of the Indo-Pacific Region and is a critical step in our joint efforts to strengthen global cooperation and engagement.

The Philippine is committed to this. That is why I am here today.

We look to concrete and cooperative initiatives towards a free and open Indo-Pacific, inclusive and based on the rule of law, territorial integrity, transparency, the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the peaceful resolution of disputes where possible.

On COVID-19, our common goal is, indeed, to “vaccinate the world by getting as many safe vaccines to as many people as possible as fast as possible.” We appreciate the G7 commitments to provide for a total of over two billion vaccine doses.

On the South China Sea, the Philippines appreciates the statement in the G7 Summit Communique of expressing deep concern about the situation, and strongly opposing any unilateral actions to change the status quo and the seizure of our maritime features thereby creating the present tensions.

We welcome statements by G7 members upholding an international rules-based order, including reaffirming UNCLOS and the 2016 Award on the South China Sea arbitration. They strengthen the legal order over the sea. They restrict the legal and political space in which actions on discredited historical claims and other pseudo-legal maneuvers to legitimize baseless yet expansive maritime claims can thrive.

On Afghanistan, we protest any form of human rights abuses, violence, and marginalization of the Afghan people, especially women and girls, whose fundamental rights and welfare must be upheld by meaningful measures from the international community .

On the Korean Peninsula, we are firm in our conviction that there is no military solution to a fraternal conflict, and that the pursuit of amity in the Peninsula is the collective responsibility of our entire region.

Finally, we support strengthening ASEAN-G7 partnership to build back better for the world, including regular high-level dialogues and initiatives like the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Thank you. END