President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is open to exploring the strategy used to settle a 2014 sea border issue with Indonesia to settle its longstanding maritime dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
It was a “collaborative” strategy built on years of dialogue that led to a peaceful settlement between overlapping economic zone claims in the Mindanao and Celebes seas, the President noted.
“We should show it to the rest of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) as an example that it can be done as long as we talk,” he told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday.
“Well, I think it’s worthwhile to explore, at the very least,” Mr. Marcos added on the third and last day of his state visit to Indonesia – also his first as Chief Executive – before flying to Singapore on the same day.
“It is one instance that this kind of discussion, we came to a conclusion, and we came to a resolution. So, we should try it,” the President added of the sea agreement.
Meanwhile, the Philippine government is considering importing fertilizers from Indonesia to boost its agricultural products, according to Mr. Marcos, who met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo during his visit to the country’s southern neighbor.
The President is also considering building a government-owned mall that would cater to micro and small businesses in the Philippines, after Widodo brought him to a state-run mall where micro-, small, and mid-sized enterprises showcase their products.
Following their meeting at the Bogor Presidential Palace, Mr. Marcos said he also met with some of the biggest businessmen in Indonesia, who likewise expressed enthusiasm to do business in the Philippines.
“I invited them to the Philippines and many of them committed. Many of them are actually involved in the Philippines and vowed to increase their businesses,” he added.
After 20 years of talks, the Southeast Asian neighbors signed the Philippines-Indonesia maritime border agreement, a landmark deal hailed by the international community as a model for peaceful settling of international disputes.
In 2019, the agreement entered into the force of law during the sidelines of the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting in Thailand.
The Philippines and Indonesia are also parties to the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) and are entitled to an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 nautical miles from their baseline territorial areas.
But China continues to claim almost the entire South China Sea amid competing claims from the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
In 2016, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration favored the Philippines’ claim on the West Philippine Sea (WPS), voiding China’s claim, including its nine-dash line, recent land reclamation activities, and other activities in Philippine waters that were considered as unlawful.
China reacted negatively to the ruling, maintaining it was “null and void.” Mr. Marcos, however, has vowed that under his administration, the Philippines will defend the country’s interest in the West Philippine Sea, which is a portion of the South China Sea being claimed by Beijing.
“Hopefully it works. If it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else but at least we have a beginning point. That’s how I see it,” he added.
On fertilizers, Mr. Marcos, who is the concurrent Agriculture Secretary, said he had a productive meeting with his Indonesian counterpart as they talked about the possibility of Jakarta supplying Manila with urea.
Mr. Marcos likewise sought assistance from Indonesia to develop the Philippines’ fisheries sector, saying he asked for help “because I am obsessed with the fact that the Philippines imports galunggong (round scad).”
“There are other things that need to be done as well, the fact that we are importing galunggong has been made very public, it’s very clear that it is quite a surprise for us to get into that situation. But again, it really comes from the neglect in the agriculture and fisheries sector,” he said.
Mr. Marcos proposed that Indonesia and the Philippines exchange delegations as the former has “better fisheries” that can help expand the latter’s fisheries sector.
The President said he and Widodo also discussed increasing the energy trade volume between their two countries as “there was a time a few weeks back, (Indonesia) stopped exporting coal.”
“Then there is a place for renewable energy because coal is not seen as the most environmentally friendly fuel. I asked, how do we shift? How does Indonesia plan to shift to renewables? We talked about it,” he said.
Widodo then invited the President and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos to visit Sarinah Building in Jakarta on Monday night to show his guests authentic Indonesian products.
“Before dinner, we went to a mall. The mall turned out to be government-owned. The products being sold there are all local products, all MSMEs, all small businesses. I said maybe we can do this in the Philippines,” Mr. Marcos said.
At the mall, Widodo also handed Mr. Marcos the painting “Traditional Market” that depicts buying and selling and people’s transactions, and other social interactions between vendors and customers.
In addition to seeing some retail products, the two leaders were also presented with several art performances, namely the Cendrawasih dance from the province of Bali and musical performances by musicians Difki Khalif and Segara.
Also attending the mall visit were Indonesia’s Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir and Fetty Kwartati, President Director of Sarinah.
In turn, the President said he told Widodo that in the Philippines, the government runs “One, Town, One Product,” a promotional program that assists MSMEs manufacture and sell their products.
The OTOP program aims to promote goods and products of Filipino towns, cities, and regions. The program also provides funding for small businesses.