Ex-DFA chief Manalo vows to push PH interests in West PH Sea as UN envoy

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo. | FILE PHOTO: Gabriel Lalu/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Former Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, who faced the Commission on Appointments on Wednesday for his appointment as Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, vowed to continue advancing the country’s interests in the West Philippine Sea.

“What I intend to do if I’m able to assume that role… is to promote not only the 2016 arbitral award but also the Philippine interests in connection with the WPS,” he said.

According to him, one of the main areas that he intends to pursue is “to promote greater adherence among countries to the importance of maintaining a rules-based order and the importance of adherence to international law.”

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Manalo also said that this year, they are planning to hold a meeting on maritime cooperation and security on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

“This will not only be a Philippine initiative, we are working also with other countries and this includes the Netherlands, Canada, and I think the United States,” he said.

“We will co-chair a side meeting during the high level week at the end of September precisely to speak on the issues of maritime security and cooperation. We hope to have a significant attendance,” he added.

Here in the Philippines, Manalo said they have created a “very informal” network which they called “Group of Friends” in international law that is composed of states and organizations focused on promoting a specific area of international law, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and Rule of Law.

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“I think these are the areas that we will continue to pursue wherever possible and see to how we could garner support if not directly for the arbitral work, but definitely directly for the adherence to the international law, specially if these are laws which all countries have agreed to,” Manalo said.

“I think it’s important that we maintain that approach. Of course there are other areas that we will explore but we will not desist in continuing our efforts,” he added.

The former foreign secretary also stressed the importance of the Philippines seeking support not only from major powers but also from its partners in the global south.

He noted that the meeting on the sidelines of the general assembly this month is aimed at attracting countries from the south, mainly from Africa and Latin America, “to speak out more openly on the importance of maritime cooperation, maritime security, and how we can work together with the international community.”

“We are focusing our efforts on that. We’re also trying to stress the importance of linking peace and security and development. I think that would be one of the important parts of my activities in the UN because it is where we could be able to gather support from the broader international community,” he added. /dl