Duterte to participate in ASEAN Summit in Thailand

June 18, 2019

President Rodrigo Duterte is set to participate for the 34th ASEAN  (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit on June 22 to 23 in Bangkok.

According to Assistant Foreign Secretary Junever Mahilum-West, there will be 16 expected outcome documents during the summit, four of which are to be adopted by the leaders.

“So these four (documents) include the ASEAN leaders’ vision on partnership for sustainability. Sustainability is a big thing during Thailand’s chairmanship this year,'' she said in a Malacanang press briefing Tuesday.

''The second one is the Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Region. The third is ASEAN leaders’ statement on the ASEAN Cultural Year for 2019, so this year is the ASEAN Cultural Year. And we expect perhaps once all the arrangements are done, there might be one on the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Outlook,” West said.

Duterte will be accompanied by eight Cabinet members.

West said the Philippines membership in ASEAN is very important as it benefits Filipinos and ASEAN people in achieving sustainable growth and also to have peace and security in the region.

“And aside from sustainable growth, we also work with our partners in ASEAN in order to achieve --- not to forget regional integration, community building within ASEAN and this is for the benefit of Filipinos and other ASEAN peoples,” she said.

She said the government will be linking the Build, Build, Build program to the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025.

“So we are linking up ASEAN through infrastructure --- infrastructure projects but also connectivity also pertains to people-to-people relations and dealings of countries,” she said.

“It’s not only the physical infrastructure to bolster our connectivity but people-to-people relations. So it’s a whole range of activities that we are undergoing to strengthen ASEAN Connectivity,” she added.

She hoped that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would be concluded this year.

“RCEP is gaining importance because of the trade friction between China and the US and we hope that RCEP would be concluded by this year. We hesitate now to say that we conclude it by the summit,” said West.

“When we don’t meet the deadline, then you know our credibility is a little bit questioned. So by this year, we hope that RCEP would be concluded,” she added.

On the Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris, West said in “very broad” will relate to the recent issue of Southeast Asian countries protesting being turned into garbage dumps by developed nations.

"The environment, you know, protecting our surroundings from garbage. That is being handled by the whole range of officialdom of ASEAN. So marine debris is right now a very important topic because this also spans boundaries --- this is a transboundary issue,” she said.

“It’s region-wide and it needs collaboration by everybody to solve,” she added.

Asked if Duterte will have bilateral meetings with the leaders, West said they are still arranging his schedule but because of it is hectic, he may not meet with the Filipino community in Bangkok. 

This will be Duterte’s fourth visit in Thailand.

This year’s ASEAN theme is “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability which calls for ASEAN to be more effective in responding to the changing global and regional architecture” with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha as the chairman.  Ella Dionisio/DMS