PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam reaffirmed their commitment to maintain and promote regional peace, security, and stability in the South China Sea.

Both leaders made the pronouncement after conducting a bilateral meeting in Malacañang.

“Aside from bilateral issues, we also discussed regional issues of mutual interest. As geographical neighbors in Southeast Asia, the South China Sea / West Philippine Sea holds great importance to both our countries,” President Marcos said during the joint press statement with the Singapore leader.

“So, we look forward to the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to maintain and to promote peace, security, and stability in the region as well as our strong support [to] the peaceful resolution of any such disputes,” the President added.

For his part, Shanmugaratnam said that Singapore’s position remains the same—to uphold the rights of all states to freedom of navigation and overflight based on established international laws, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

“That’s fundamental… UNCLOS has to be the legal framework within which all the activities in the oceans and seas are carried out,” said Shanmugaratnam.

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Chona Yu