MANILA, Philippines- Hinikayat ni Department of National Defense (DND) Officer-In-Charge Carlito Galvez Jr. ang foreign defense ministers, officials, at diplomats na suportahan ang 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling na hayagang inaayawan ng China.
Kapansin-pansin naman kasi ang “expansive claims” ng China sa South China Sea.
Sa isinagawang International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) mula Hunyo 2 hanggang 4, 2023 sa Singapore, nakiisa si Galvez kina United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace at Canadian Minister of National Defense Anita Anand na pangunahan ang talakayan sa paksa ukol sa “Building a Stable and Balanced Asia-Pacific.”
Sa isang kalatas, sinabi ni Galvez ang papel ng international law bilang “greatest equalizer” sa hanay ng mga estado, inalala kung paano nito itinulak ang Pilipinas na “to resort to the compulsory dispute settlement mechanism of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and The Hague Tribunal due to the territorial issue with China in the South China Sea.”
“[Galvez] encouraged all parties who subscribe to the rule-of-law to express support for the 2016 South China Sea Arbitration Award and what it stands for as it is ultimately this support that will preserve the global order at sea and uphold the universally recognized principles of international law,” ayon sa kalatas ng Department of National Defense (DND).
Taong 2013 nang idemanda ng gobyerno ng Pilipinas ang China sa international arbitral tribunal. Sa ipinalabas na ruling ng tribunal noong Hulyo 2016 ay malinaw na pabor ito sa Pilipinas at binasura ang nine-dash claim ng China sa South China Sea.
Ipinagkibit-balikat naman ng China ang panawagan ng Pilipinas na sundin ang 2016 arbitration ruling, tinawag ang desisyon bilang “illegal and invalid.”
Ani Galvez, ang panindigan ang kahalagan ng rule-of-law at ang patuloy na pagpupursige sa dayalogo at multilateralism ay naglalayon na panatilihin ang pangmatagalang kapayapaan at katatagan nsa rehiyon sa gitn ng tumataas na presyur sa security environment.
Binigyang diin din nito ang kahalagahan ng multilateralism sa pagsusulong ng political will at mutual trust na kailangan para sa constructive dialogue at makamit ang isang kasunduan na susundin ang “shared system of norms and values.”
“This statement reaffirms that multilateralism remains an effective strategy for modernizing collective defense, deterring aggression, and maintaining peace and prosperity — a strategy that can create a strong message that the Philippines is not alone in shedding light on the situation in the South China Sea,” ayon sa DND.
Sa kabilang dako, ang SLD, tinawag na “Asia’s premier defense summit,” ay isang taunang pagtitipon ng defense ministers, senior military officials, diplomats, security experts, at practitioners, na naglalayong “ushers significant debates on the region’s most pressing security issues and important talks to generate fresh approaches together.”
Samantala, nakipagpulong naman si Galvez sa kanyang counterparts mula Singapore, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Sweden, at Estados Unidos sa sidelines ng SLD. Kris Jose
