Phnom Penh City, Cambodia
4 April 2012

The Filipino community in Cambodia warmly welcomed President Benigno S. Aquino III as he met with them during his last day of visit to Phnom Penh for the 20th ASEAN Summit and the Celebration of the 45th ASEAN Summit.

In his speech, President Aquino said, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is now pushing for the computerization of the processing of documents of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are having their vacations in the Philippines. This aims to shorten the time allotted for the processing and for the OFWs to spend more time with their families while they are in the country. As part of DOLE’s short-term solution, the agency will hire additional personnel that will cater to the needs of OFWs.

There are 3, 497 registered Filipinos living and working in Cambodia and most of them are professionals.

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Phnom Penh City, Cambodia
4 April 2012

President Benigno S. Aquino III met with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia and Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia for the 8th Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit to discuss strategic thrusts of BIMP-EAGA in the areas of transportation, power and communication connectivity, food basket strategy in agri-business and fisheries development, environment and natural resource development tourism.

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Phnom Penh City, Cambodia
4 April 2012

President Benigno S. Aquino III met with other leaders of ASEAN at the concluding session of the 20th ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh.

On April 2, ASEAN leaders agreed to adopt various documents such as the Phnom Penh Agenda on ASEAN Community Building, the Phnom Penh Declaration on “ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny,” the Leaders’ Declaration on Drug-Free ASEAN 2015 and the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM).

Other topics discussed by the ten ASEAN leaders during the summit include the Progress of the Implementation of the ASEAN Charter and Roadmap for an ASEAN Community, the Progress of the Implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC), G-20, the Regional and International Issues, Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and the ASEAN Global Dialogue.

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Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia
4 April 2012

Speaking at the Retreat Session of the 20th ASEAN Summit, President Benigno S. Aquino III called for concerted international action to convince the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPKR) not to push through with its plan to launch a long range missile this month, believing that this action of Korea violates United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 1874.

President Aquino said to his ASEAN counterparts that the planned missile launch increases tensions “particularly in the period of uncertainty leading up to the launch – where no one is sure of the trajectory of the missile.” The President also stressed that the situation in the Korean Peninsula has implications on regional stability. He said that “stability, peace and prosperity in our region requires all of us to continue to engage with each other, and the larger international community in ways that build confidence.” He then hopes for the early resumption of the Six-Party Talks and for DPKR to undertake denuclearization.

With regards to the disputes in the West Philippine Sea, President Aquino reiterated the Philippine’s earlier proposal to host a meeting among claimant countries, including China, under the guidance of ASEAN. The proposal aims to come up with a peaceful and diplomatic resolution regarding the issue.

As President Aquino explained, “ASEAN member states should arrive at a common and collective position on the COC before meeting with China to craft a legally-binding code in the West Philippine Sea. It is important that we maintain ASEAN centrality.”

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Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia
3 April 2012

Phnom Penh City, Cambodia

3 April 2012

Phnom Penh City, Cambodia
3 April 2012

ASEAN leaders met with ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) Representatives. Together with President Benigno S. Aquino III, AIPA Secretary General former Representative Antonio Cuenco, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and La Union Representative Victor Ortega also attended the meeting as AIPA-Philippines delegation members.

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Phnom Penh City, Cambodia
3 April 2012

President Benigno S. Aquino III and other leaders of ASEAN member-countries joined in a lunch hosted by Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

It has been more than ten years since Cambodia became a full member of ASEAN, and it has been religiously fulfilling its role to build a peaceful, prosperous and harmonious regional community. Prime Minister Hun Sen said, Cambodia “will make utmost effort within its capacity to closely cooperate with other member-countries for achieving various priorities of ASEAN toward the building of ‘ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny.’’

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Phnom Penh City, Cambodia
3 April 2012

After the opening ceremony, the ten leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met at the Plenary Session to discuss the region’s initiatives and programs that will pave the way for the establishment of an ASEAN Community by the year 2015, as well as the action plans that address current issues and concerns in the region. These initiatives were summarized by the Phnom Penh Agenda, which will be the guidebook of this year’s summit. Aside from these, other challenging issues were addressed to bring out progress and prosperity of the people of ASEAN.

Aside from the Phnom Penh Agenda, the ASEAN Phnom Penh Declaration and the Declaration for Drug-Free ASEAN by 2015 were also adopted by the leaders. They also aim to prevent the rise of extremism in the region.

Meanwhile, President Aquino expressed his commitment in achieving a nuclear-free ASEAN region. He said that the leaders of ASEAN member-countries “can further protect our peoples by working together towards that concrete plan of action with the aim of sustaining cooperation on non-proliferation and disarmament”.

The President also reiterated the Philippine government’s stand with regards to the drafting of the Code of Conduct of Parties in the West Philippine Sea also known as the South China Sea. He said that the ASEAN community should “engage China after the COC is finalized among us here, members.”

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Phnom Penh, Cambodia
3 April 2012

President Benigno S. Aquino III and other ASEAN leaders met at the Opening Ceremony of the 20^th ASEAN Summit and the Celebration of the 45^th Anniversary of ASEAN at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh City.

Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia announced the official opening of the summit and expressed his acceptance of the chairmanship of ASEAN 2012. In his opening statement, the Prime Minister said that after more than four decades of development, the region today has become a closely-integrated political and economic entity, an influential player in Asia, and an indispensable partner of major countries and organizations in the world.

Despite the achievements and success of ASEAN, Prime Minister Hun Sen said that the community is facing some challenges such as food and energy security, climate change and disasters, terrorism, transnational crimes and maritime safety among others. He added that the ongoing social and political turmoil in Middle East and North Africa remains a threat to global security and exerting an upward pressure on the high price of oil. Thus, these require the ASEAN community to double its efforts to promote further growth and improve equitable distribution of the fruits of growth among member countries.

Prime Minister Hun Sen discussed the “Phnom Penh Agenda” which spells out ASEAN’s priorities for 2012 which includes the paying of special attention to strengthening the mechanism for ensuring financial stability in the region, to prioritize the establishment of ASEAN Economic Community by 2015 and to further promote cooperation in the agriculture sector by focusing on boosting productivity and agriculture diversification.

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Phnom Penh, Cambodia
3 April 2012

President Benigno S. Aquino III was received and welcomed by Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia and his wife, Her Excellency Lok Chumteav Kittiprittbandit Bun Rany, at the Peace Palace before the formal opening of the 20th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and the Celebration of the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN.

Earlier, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman, and Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo also arrived for the opening ceremonies.

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