MANILA, Philippines- Pag-uusapan ang kamakailan lamang na agresyon ng mga Chinese sa West Philippine Sea (WPS) sa trilateral summit ng Pilipinas, Estados Unidos at Japan sa Washington, DC sa susunod na linggo.
Sa press briefing sa Malakanyang, tinanong si Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) acting deputy Undersecretary Hans Mohaimin Siriban kung ang tensyon sa rehiyon ay pag-uusapan sa meeting nina Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr., US President Joe Biden, at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“Yes, I think we can expect a discussion on the recent incidents on… of course, the joint vision statement is still under discussion, but we can expect an alignment of views among the three countries on the recent incidents in the West Philippine Sea,” ayon kay Siriban.
“Of course, we will continue to call [for] peace and stability and that the recent incidents [be] resolved in a peaceful and diplomatic manner,” dagdag na wika nito.
Inihayag pa ni Siriban na ang meeting kasama ang ibang lider ay naglalayon na isulong ang freedom of navigation sa West Philippine Sea at protektahan ang mga mangingisdang Filipino sa rehiyon.
“I think that is the hope of everyone whether or not this trilateral summit takes place or even in a bilateral context. That is our hope na magkaroon ng malayang paglalayag sa West Philippine Sea at sa ating mga karagatan,” wika ni Siriban.
“Our hope is also that with the trilateral cooperation, it will also help capacitate the Philippines in terms of more training on maritime security, training on capacity-building not just training of personnel but also, possibly, more cooperation on equipment,” patuloy ng opisyal.
Nilinaw din ni Siriban na ang pagsasagawa ng trilateral summit ay “not directed at any country” dahil pangunahing nakatuon ito sa economic cooperation.
“It is really a deepening of existing strong bilateral alliances that we have had and, of course, if you look at the areas of discussion that are being looked at, the primary focus, really, is on economic cooperation—building on economic resilience,” giit ni Siriban.
“I think, for the Philippines, our interest, really, is to build economic resilience and, bilaterally, our friends from the US and Japan have been very active in supporting us in a bilateral context,” lahad niya.
Samantala, sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos na ang trilateral engagement ng Pilipinas sa Estados Unidos at Japan ay ikinasa para panatilihin ang kapayapaan sa Indo-Pacific region at hindi para manalo sa anumang hidwaan sa rehiyon. Kris Jose
