{"id":219295,"date":"2019-06-18T08:34:52","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T12:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=219295"},"modified":"2019-06-18T08:34:52","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T12:34:52","slug":"duterte-to-attend-34th-asean-summit-in-thailand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/06\/18\/duterte-to-attend-34th-asean-summit-in-thailand\/","title":{"rendered":"Duterte to attend 34th ASEAN Summit in Thailand"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: TOAST TO FRIENDSHIP. File photo shows President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha making a toast for the decades-long friendship between the two countries following the signing ceremony at the Thai Koo Fah Building in Bangkok, Thailand on March 21, 2017. Duterte is set to visit Thailand anew to attend the 34th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit on June 22 and 23 this year. (Presidential Photo via PNA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0— President Rodrigo Duterte will be among the 10 state leaders expected to attend the 34th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit on June 22 and 23 in Bangkok, Thailand.<\/p>\n

In a pre-departure briefing, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Junever Mahilum-West confirmed that Duterte will make his third visit to Thailand accompanied by at least seven secretaries.<\/p>\n

The Cabinet secretaries who will join the President include Teodoro Locsin Jr. of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ramon Lopez of Trade and Industry, Rolando Bautista of Social Welfare and Development, Carlos Dominguez III of Finance, Arthur Tugade of Transportation, Bernadette Romulo-Puyat of Tourism, and Emmanuel Pi\u00f1ol of Agriculture, according to Mahilum-West.<\/p>\n

Duterte\u2019s last visit to Thailand was in March 2017 to meet Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha during his two-day state visit to the country.<\/p>\n

Mahilum-West said there will be four important events for the Philippines during the summit, namely the summit plenary, the gala dinner for leaders, the leaders retreat, and the 13th Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) summit.<\/p>\n

During the plenary session on June 22, she said leaders will discuss ASEAN community building under the \u201cAdvancing Partnership for Sustainability\u201d and there will be a retreat of the leaders during which they will exchange views on ASEAN\u2019s external relations and the way forward and significant regional and international issues.<\/p>\n

Sixteen outcome documents are expected to be signed during the summit, four of which are to be adopted by the ASEAN state leaders, Mahilum-West said.<\/p>\n

These include the Asean Leaders Vision on Partnership for Sustainability, the Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris in the Asean region, the Asean Leaders Statement on Asean Cultural Year for 2019, and one on Asean Indo-Pacific Outlook.<\/p>\n

South China Sea issues<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mahilum-West confirmed that South China Sea issues will be among the topics in the summit agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder the agenda item, regional and international developments, South China Sea will be on the agenda and the leaders are going to exchange views on this issue,\u201d Mahilum-West said.<\/p>\n

However, she said it was \u201cpremature\u201d to say that the Philippines may bring up the Recto Bank (Reed Bank) incident in the West Philippine Sea where a Chinese vessel allegedly rammed and later abandoned a Filipino fishing boat on June 9.<\/p>\n

Mahilum-West said government is still waiting for investigation results on the incident from both the Philippine and Chinese authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the agenda would be regional and international developments under which the South China Sea could fall but also there are pending major factors that we have to wait for. For one thing, there is this investigation that\u2019s ongoing that up to the present discloses certain facts we did not know before,\u201d Mahilum-West said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, we lodged a strong protest with China and we are awaiting China\u2019s response to this. So, in the meantime that these major factors are pending, I think it would be premature of me to say that we will raise the issue at this summit,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The DFA official, meanwhile, emphasized the importance of having a Code of Conduct in resolving issues such as the Recto Bank incident.<\/p>\n

Duterte is also expected to have a \u201ccouple\u201d of bilateral talks with other ASEAN leaders, she said.<\/p>\n

Mahilum-West, meanwhile, expressed hope that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will be concluded within the year.<\/p>\n

RCEP is envisioned to be the world\u2019s largest free trade pact, accounting for 48 percent of the world\u2019s total market and 30 percent of global gross domestic product and trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hesitate now to say that we conclude it by the summit, a definite deadline, because when we don\u2019t meet the deadline then our credibility is a little bit questioned so by this year, we hope that RCEP would be concluded,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

However, the DFA official said she has no knowledge of a scheduled meeting between Duterte and the Philippine community as the President has a \u201chectic schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t heard of any FilCom meeting being arranged because of the hectic schedule because aside from the summit meetings we also have the bilateral meetings to arrange,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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