Philippines to push for 'preventive diplomacy'

The Philippines would push for the adoption of a mechanism that would institutionalize "preventive diplomacy" in meeting any crisis or emergency situation that could disturb the peace and security in the region.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said Saturday this would be among the highlights in the agenda of the one-day 14th ASEAN Regional Forum which will be held Aug. 2 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

The ARF, which will be chaired by Romulo, will be attended by the foreign ministers of the 10 ASEAN members, the 10 ASEAN dialogue partners and seven other countries in the region.

Romulo said that the 14th ARF will adopt the terms of reference of the Friends of the ARF Chair, an ad-hoc body that will be composed of the current ARF chairman, the former ARF chairman and the incoming ARF chairman.

The Friends of the ARF, or FOC, will assist the concurrent ARF chairman in advancing the objectives of the ARF.

Established at the 26th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Singapore in l993, the objectives of the ARF are:

- To foster constructive dialogue and consultation on political and security issues of common interest and concern; and

- To make significant contributions to efforts towards confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific region.

Aside from the ASEAN members and the ASEAN dialogue partners, Mongolia, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will join the 14th ARF in Manila.