Manila to host ASEAN Maritime Legal Experts Meeting

The Philippines will host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Maritime Legal Experts’ Meeting on September 22-23, 2011 at Hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City.

Maritime legal experts from the ten Member States of ASEAN—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—will meet to discuss the Philippine proposal for a Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship, and Cooperation (ZoPFF/C) in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

The forthcoming meeting was based on the decision of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers at the 44^th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) in Bali for the ASEAN Senior Officials to study the proposal with the assistance of maritime legal experts.

Subsequently, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers accepted the Philippine offer to host the Maritime Legal Experts’ Meeting.

The meeting seeks to establish a common understanding among ASEAN Member States on the ZoPFF/C proposal.

Its findings will be reported to the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (ASEAN SOM), which will then make recommendations for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers to consider before the 19^th ASEAN Summit in November 2011 in Bali.

Source: gov.ph

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