Canada will assist the Philippines defend its sovereign rights within the South China Sea and battle unlawful fishing by offering satellite tv for pc surveillance and different scientific knowledge as a part of its efforts to spice up its presence within the Indo-Pacific area, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly mentioned on Friday.
In an interview with GMA News Online, Joly expressed Canada’s help for the 2016 arbitration ruling that upheld Philippine sovereign rights in its unique financial zone and invalidated China’s expansive territorial claims within the disputed waters.
Joly mentioned China ought to respect the tribunal’s choice.
“We share along with the Philippines the importance of respecting international norms, including the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Seas, so, therefore, when it comes to the 2016 arbitral decision, which recognizes the Philippines’ sovereignty over its waters, we think this is a final and binding decision, and we think that all parties, including China, should respect it,” Joly mentioned.
“There is a clear recognition that there is, indeed, heightened tensions in the region, particularly in the East and South China Sea and that upholding international norms is at the core of keeping the region stable and peaceful,” Canada’s high diplomat mentioned.
Joly is visiting the Philippines and has held talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to increase bilateral ties. Both international locations will mark the seventy fifth 12 months of their diplomatic relations subsequent 12 months.
“In the context of the Indo-Pacific strategy, the Philippines is clearly a priority country for Canada. You will see more support when it comes to security,” Joly mentioned.
Canada, which has the longest coast on the planet, has acquired a whole lot of experience on maritime points and wish to play a bigger function within the Pacific, Joly mentioned.
It launched its Indo-Pacific technique in November.
“For a long time, Canada has been looking to our east, so Europe, and to our south to the U.S. and north to the Arctic but none enough to our west,” Joly mentioned, “It is time that we recognize and assert ourselves as a Pacific nation and so that’s why I am here.”
Canada is deploying one other frigate to the Indo-Pacific for regional peace and stability.
“We will have now three frigates in the region. After the U.S. and France, we will be the country, which has the most frigates in much more than the North Pacific and we will make sure that we stand by the freedom of navigation,” she mentioned.
Canada is offering help to completely different international locations within the area, together with the Philippines, to assist them higher monitor their coastal waters and the excessive seas, spot and deal with issues like unlawful fishing and acquire scientific knowledge in regards to the extent of their territories and continental shelf, she mentioned.
“We can provide you information on the program that we have called the `Dark Vessel Program.’ It’s about satellite imaging, radars and it’s about being able to determine the continental shelf by providing scientific evidence,” she mentioned.
The Canadian program harnesses satellite tv for pc expertise to have the ability to find and observe ships illegally fishing wherever even when they change off their location transmitting gadgets to evade monitoring and surveillance.
The Philippine Coast Guard, which has been finishing up territorial patrols within the West Philippines Sea, has reported that many vessels, together with Chinese Coast Guard ships and militia vessels, typically flip off their location transmitting gadgets to keep away from detention of their actions within the contested waters.
“That’s part of the conversations that I had today, how can we help and, of course, not only recognizing the maritime sovereignty of the Philippines but also in making sure that we are there to provide tools to the Philippines to make sure that this recognition is in practice…and that sovereignty is upheld,” Joly mentioned.
In her talks with Marcos on maritime points on Thursday, the president lauded Canada’s presence within the South China Sea, citing the occasion of HMCS Calgary, a Canadian warship, crusing close to the Spratly Islands in March 2021 amid heightened tensions within the disputed waters, Malacanang mentioned.
Joly additionally met her Philippine counterpart, Manalo.
“The Philippines and Canada agree on the need to promote the rule of law in the South China Sea, to safeguard freedom of navigation and overflight, promote the peaceful resolution of disputes and preserve marine ecosystem, in accordance with the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea,” the Department of Foreign Affairs mentioned in an announcement.
Both Joly and Manalo highlighted the colourful people-to-people ties between the 2 international locations, via vacationers, students and Filipinos in Canada, the place near 1,000,000 folks of Filipino descent work and dwell – the fourth largest diaspora inhabitants in Canada.
They additionally exchanged views on quite a lot of regional and international issues, together with developments within the Taiwan Straits, the Korean Peninsula and Ukraine, the DFA mentioned.
Joly mentioned Canada has sought the help of the Philippines in its effort to raise its engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which the Philippines co-founded in 1967, to a strategic stage.
Canada has additionally sought the help of the Philippines in its free-trade negotiations with the ASEAN, which encompasses a various area of greater than 600 million folks, Joly mentioned.
“We think that having an approach by and for countries in the region make sure we work together on the stability of the region,” she mentioned. “That’s why we want to invest in ASEAN.”—LDF/NB, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
