Philippines to host maritime forum

MANILA -- The Philippines will host the Third Asean Maritime Forum (AMF) and First Expanded Asean Maritime Forum (EAMF) on October 3 to 5 in Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.

The AMF is the primary forum for discussion of cross-cutting maritime issues in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), in accordance with the objective to promote maritime cooperation in the Asean Political Security Community.

This will be the first time that these matters will be discussed among the 18 members of the East Asia Summit (EAS), which includes the 10 Asean member-countries, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States. The expanded forum will have participants from the government, private-sector stakeholders and academe.

"The Philippines is privileged to host the third AMF and the first EAMF. Both of them serve as important platforms for dialogue and cooperation on maritime issues in the region. The Philippines believes that countries in the region face common challenges that require collaborative approaches," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Erlinda Basilio, the Philippines' senior official to Asean, said.

"Because East Asia has assumed a significant role in sustaining global economic growth, it is important for countries to work together to ensure that we have a safe, secure, environmentally-sound and connected seas that support our growth, economic integration and long-term stability," she added.

The meetings will pursue directives from the 6th East Asia Summit where EAS Leaders recognized the importance of promoting maritime cooperation, including sea piracy, search at sea, marine environment, maritime security, maritime connectivity, freedom of navigation, fisheries and other areas of cooperation. (SDR/Sunnex)