The Philippines called for openness, flexibility and collective responsibility among ASEAN member states and their partners as senior defense officials met virtually for the ASEAN Defense Senior Officials’ Meeting-Plus (ADSOM-Plus) recently.

Department of National Defense Undersecretary for Strategic Assessment and Planning Ignacio Madriaga, the ADSOM-Plus chair, led the meeting with senior defense officials from ASEAN member states and the Plus countries, following the ASEAN Defense Senior Officials’ Meeting.

Madriaga urged participants to seek common ground despite differences, citing ASEAN centrality, consensus-building, inclusivity and collective responsibility as guiding principles.

“Let our differences inspire us to devise creative solutions rather than divisions,” Madriaga said.

The Philippines also emphasized international law in addressing regional security issues, particularly amid continuing disputes in the South China Sea.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are among the states with competing claims involving maritime features and waters in the South China Sea.

The Philippines and China have been the most frequent source of recent confrontations.

In 2016, an arbitral tribunal ruled that China had no legal basis under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea for historic rights to resources within its nine-dash line. China rejected the award.