Russia pronouce support to Philippines for the Spratly disputes against China's force

March 13, 2012: Russia Pronounce its support to the Philippines over Spratly disputes with china and other claimants. Philippines - Russia is supporting the Philippines' stand that rules based on transparency and diplomacy should be used to resolve maritime issues.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov aired his government's support during his bilateral meeting with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario in Moscow on March 13, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday.

The 2 officials tackled regional and international issues, including maritime security in the Asia-Pacific region.

"They agreed that the threats faced in this area should be approached using a rules-based regime based on transparency and diplomacy. They affirmed their commitment to ensure safety of navigation and other security issues in the Asia-Pacific region," the DFA said.

The Philippines earlier asked China to end the disputes in the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea by validating the 2 countries' territorial claims under the United Nations on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing declined to make a commitment on the issue but said Beijing is not ignoring the UNCLOS as a way to resolve territorial disputes.

Del Rosario and Lavrov also discussed Syrian crisis and the Arab Spring phenomena in their bilateral talks, according to the DFA.

The DFA chief met with Russian businessmen, diplomats and leaders of the Filipino community during his visit to Moscow.

He encouraged Russian businessmen to invest in the Philippines in the energy, tourism, public-private partnership, and business process outsourcing sectors.

Other countries expresses support to the Philippines over Spratly disputes are: USA, Australia, Japan and Indonesia.



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