Rancho Mirage, California
16 February 2016

 

The second day of meeting of ASEAN heads and US President Barack Obama focused on protecting peace and security in the Asia Pacific region.

The leaders expressed mutual concern over the continuous militarization in the West Philippine Sea including the island building and construction activities, thus, highlighting the significance of freedom of navigation and overflight.

Speaking with one voice and keeping the regional peace and stability were underlined to ensure the preservation of status quo in the region and to guarantee that all parties will abide with the rule of law. The leaders realized the importance of this in promoting respect for international law and norms in handling regional tensions.

Other issues discussed by the leaders were the conflict in the Middle East and Syria, and talked about the ways to protect the region against digital recruitment of terrorism. Likewise, they called for North Korea to denuclearize.

* * *