MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has welcomed the Group of Seven’s (G7) “unwavering dedication” to a rules-based order within the West Philippine Sea and the broader Indo-Pacific area.
Within the ultimate G7 Overseas Ministers’ assertion issued on Nov. 26, the seven states — Italy, Germany, the UK, Canada, France, america, and Japan— mentioned they “stay critically involved in regards to the state of affairs within the East and South China Seas.”
They underscored that there’s “no authorized foundation for China’s expansive maritime claims within the South China Sea” and once more opposed Beijing’s “militarization and coercive and intimidation actions within the South China Sea” within the space.
READ: DFA’s Manalo to characterize the Philippines at G7 meet in Italy
Overseas Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, who participated within the G7 ministerial assembly in Italy on the identical day, emphasised that the state of the Indo-Pacific issues all the world.
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“The state of the Indo-Pacific issues us all. That’s why on the G7 Overseas Ministers’ Assembly, I conveyed the Philippines’s views on Indo-Pacific/South China Sea points and the state of affairs our folks face within the West Philippine Sea,” he mentioned.
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“I thank the G7 for his or her assist for Philippines’ principled place, that bolstering a maritime order within the South China Sea, anchored on UNCLOS, is critically essential to sustaining the rules-based order within the Indo-Pacific.”
READ: G7 slams China; PH gov’t warns vs Beijing ‘puppets’
This was the primary time that the Philippines participated in a G7 assembly, with Manalo talking at an expanded session on Indo-Pacific along with South Korea, India, and Indonesia.
On the discussion board, he delivered an intervention titled “Constructing a Guidelines-based Maritime Order within the Indo-Pacific” that looked for G7’s sustained dedication, in addition to assist for Asean centrality within the area.
Manalo additionally mentioned Manila could be steadfast in selling worldwide legislation and diplomacy, particularly in managing variations within the South China Sea.
“As for the G7 trigger, they have already got this (comparable type of dedication) however we would like this to be sustained — we’re encouraging them na huwag bibitaw (to maintain it),” Overseas Affairs Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Maria Elena Algabre instructed the Philippine Information Company when requested what suggestions the Philippine delegation to G7 has put ahead.
“Their dedication on that’s unwavering as a result of greater than 30 % of worldwide maritime commerce passes by way of the South China Sea so it doesn’t solely concern us but additionally them.”
Algabre mentioned Manila’s participation within the G7 aligns with the federal government’s initiative on transparency and rising public consciousness of the state of affairs within the West Philippine Sea.
“That is a part of our program on transparency and rising public consciousness on the precise state of affairs on the bottom in order to counter false narratives and in a method create a extra viable basis for diplomacy to work,” she mentioned.
On prime of the G7 assembly, Manalo additionally held bilateral conferences along with his counterparts Japanese Overseas Minister Iwaya Takeshi and Italian Overseas Minister Antonio Tajani.
He additionally met with the Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Indonesian Overseas Minister Sugiono, Canadian Overseas Minister Mélanie Joly diplomats on the margins of the occasion.
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