Manila, PHILIPPINES – After emphasizing that it would be hard for other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to side with the Philippines against China, presidential candidate and Manila City mayor Isko Moreno said that he would go to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and ask members of the United Nations (UN) to recognize the Hague ruling in favor of the country.
“Unang una, iyang mga bansa na ‘yan, most likely hindi kakampi sa atin for their personal reasons. But there is a venue , the UN General Assembly. Iboto niyo po akong president, and I’ll make sure I will go to the general assembly at sisingilin ko ang lahat ng miyembro ng UN to recognize the Hague ruling,” Moreno said.
The statement was made by Moreno during the second round of presidential debates organized by the Commission on Elections, when asked how he would rally the ASEAN in responding against Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
Moreno also lamented that it seems the United Nations is failing to assist the Philippines with respect to China, yet it has repeatedly demanded the country to fulfill its obligations as part of the organization.
“Because kung tayo ay tinatawag na nagkakaisang bansa at meron tayong obligasyon sa isa’t isa bilang nasyon, bakit kapag kayo ay naniningil ng aming obligasyon, gusto niyo tuparin namin pero kapag kami na ang naningil, parang walang dumadating na tulong sa amin?” he added.
Nevertheless, with respect to the ASEAN, Moreno said that the country should continue its trade with its neighboring countries despite them having their own interests in the ongoing dispute.
He also said that he will not tolerate what happened recently in Bajo de Masinloc, where a vessel of the Chinese Coast Guard engaged in a “close distance maneuvering” against a vessel of the Philippine Coast Guard that was conducting patrolling and training in the area.
“I will not tolerate what happened in the Masinloc incident. Any foreign vessel entering into our sovereign territory, I’ll make sure they’ll be decorative items under the sea within the Philippine ocean,” Moreno said. TNF