Philippines respects Malaysia’s rejection of Cayetano statement on Rohingya

September 25, 2017

The Philippines on Monday said it respects Malaysia’s decision to disassociate itself from the ASEAN chairman’s statement issued by Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on the Rohingya crisis, saying dissenting opinions are welcome under its leadership of the 10-member regional bloc.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines has “deep respect” for Malaysia's stand.

The DFA said it was able to clearly articulate its position in several Association of Southeast Asian Nations side meetings during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

But as this year’s ASEAN chairman, the DFA said the Philippines should also “take into account the sentiments of the other members” of the grouping.

"ASEAN is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in the northern Rakhine State and since Malaysia has different views on some issues, out of respect for its position, we decided that instead of a Foreign Ministers Statement, we would issue a Chairman's Statement that would reflect the general sentiments of the other foreign ministers," the DFA said.

The  DFA said the Philippines, as this year's ASEAN chairman,  “is allowed a certain level of flexibility in formulating the ASEAN chairman’s statement on various issues.”

In the Chairman's Statement released on Sunday, the foreign ministers condemned the attacks against Myanmar security forces and “all acts of violence which resulted in loss of civilian lives, destruction of homes and displacement of large numbers of people.”

It acknowledged the situation in Rakhine State is a complex inter-communal issue with deep historical roots.” It also urged all parties to “avoid actions that will further worsen the situation on the ground.”

The statement also welcomed the commitment of Myanmar authorities “to ensure the safety of civilians, take immediate steps to end the violence in Rakhine, restore normal socio-economic conditions, and address the refugee problem through verification process.”

Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, in a separate strongly-worded statement, lamented the non-mention of Rohingyas, a Muslim minority in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, in the final document issued by Cayetano. Aman also called the chairman’s statement a “misrepresentation of reality.”

Manila maintained the chairman's statement was issued after extensive consultations with Malaysia, adding that the other foreign ministers knew that Malaysia will disassociate itself from the statement.

"The Philippines as chair tolerates the public manifestation of dissenting voices," the DFA said. "This demonstrates a new level of maturity on how we implement ASEAN's consensus principle when confronted with issues affecting national interests."

The United Nations said more than 700,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh and of this figure, 420,000 have arrived in the past three and a half weeks. DMS