Metro Manila, Philippines— The Philippines and Singapore reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea.
President Bongbong Marcos and Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam had a bilateral meeting on Thursday where they discussed wide-ranging bilateral and regional issues.
“As geographical neighbors in Southeast Asia, the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea holds great importance to both our countries,” said Marcos in their joint statement.
Marcos said the Philippines will work with fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations members to maintain peace and stability in the region.
“So, we look forward to the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to maintain and to promote peace, security, and stability in the region as well as our strong support [to] the peaceful resolution of any such disputes,” said Marcos.
Shanmugaratnam, for his part, said adherence to international law is key in maintaining stability.
“We’ve consistently upheld the rights of all states to freedom of navigation and overflight, and strongly supported the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, that’s fundamental,” he said.
Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro previously described Singapore as the Philippines’ “next defense partner.”
The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation on July 24 in Singapore which will serve as a framework for military education and anti-terrorism, to foster closer people-to-people links.
Geopolitical analyst Don Mclain Gill told NewsWatch Plus that the visit of the Singaporean president reflects an “important level of reciprocity between the leaders of both Southeast Asian countries”.
“More importantly, this visit comes at a time when the Philippines is pushing for closer security ties with its Immediate Southeast Asian neighbors in the maritime domain,” said Gill
Gill noted that Singapore could complement the Philippines’ push for stronger cooperation in the region in the midst of threats to stability.
“While Singapore is not a claimant state in the South China Sea dispute, active engagements with maritime Southeast Asian neighbors will complement the Philippines’ goal of creating stronger linkages with immediate neighbors amid China’s expansionism in the region,” said Gill.
