A free and open South China Sea will not only benefit Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, but also the entire world, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. declared on Tuesday.
“We already have many exchanges with Germany in terms of training for our Armed Forces and, of course, the Coast Guard as well. And that we have agreed with the Chancellor to expand that,” President Marcos said during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“Because it really, it has to be recognized that the South China Sea handles 60 percent of the trade of the entire world. So, it’s not solely the interest of the Philippines, or of ASEAN, or of Indo-Pacific region but the entire world. That is why it’s in all our interest to keep it as a safe passage for all international commerce that goes on in the South China Sea,” he said.
And as to the upcoming visit of the German leader to China, President Marcos said he can only wish that the visit will be a success particularly in attaining a more peaceful situation in Ukraine, and also in lowering the tension in the South China Sea.
Although there is no outright war in the South China Sea, there are worries among nations because of the increasing tensions in the vital waterway.
“Ukraine, of course, is a continuing challenge that the whole world faces. It is not some—the interconnection of the global economy… such that an occurrence, such a conflict, no matter how far away from the Philippines does affect still the Philippines and the region,” President Marcos said.
For his part, Scholz said world economic issues such as the Indo-Pacific, the South China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait will undoubtedly be tackled in his visit to China.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the Philippines received Germany’s backing in protecting its rights in the South China Sea and the support to international-based order, with Scholz underscoring the importance of upholding international law, particularly laws that govern international navigation such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). PND
