Tumutok sa usapin ng politika, seguridad, at development sa South China Sea (SCS) ang ilan sa mga natalakay nina Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at Indonesian President Joko Widodo sa kanilang bilateral meeting sa Malacañang nitong January 10.
Ayon kay President Widodo, nagkasundo sila na pag-igtingin ang border cooperation ng dalawang bansa.
Ipinaabot aniya niya kay Pangulong Marcos ang kahalagahan na pabilisin ang revision ng nilalaman ng border patrol agreement, settlement ng continental shelf boundaries, at ang pagpapaigting ng defense cooperation ng dalawang bansa, kabilang na ang defense equipment.
“First in the field of politics and security, we have agreed to strengthen border cooperation and I have conveyed the importance of accelerating the revisions of the border patrol agreement and the border crossing agreement, the settlement of the continental shelf boundaries and the strengthening of defense cooperation including defense equipment.” —President Widodo.
Sa panig naman ni Pangulong Marcos, sinabi ng pangulo na naging mabunga at tapat ang kanilang diskusyon ng Indonesian President sa ilang regional event tulad ng development sa South China Sea at ASEAN cooperation at initiatives.
“And speaking of ASEAN, as founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), the Philippines and Indonesia affirmed our insistence on the universality of UNCLOS, which sets out the legal framework that governs all activities in the oceans and in the seas.” —Pangulong Marcos.| ulat ni Racquel Bayan
