I had the opportunity today, here in Phnom Penh, to hold a series of bilateral meetings. First, I met with Brunei’s Second Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then with Singapore’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the host and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia, and the ASEAN Secretary-General.
Tomorrow, I will hold four additional bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Qatar, China, Thailand, and Indonesia.
I will also sign the accession of Greece to the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.
In all these meetings, in addition to the framework of bilateral political and economic relations, I had the opportunity to raise the issue of International Law and the International Law of the Sea, the UNCLOS, the United Nations Convention; in other words, to raise the need for a stable framework within which both freedom of navigation and security and cooperation in the marine environment can be ensured.
I have to say that all the countries with which I have spoken today have expressed strong support for this particular position. In general, it seems that in the current context following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the international community is increasingly realizing that revisionism, the questioning of borders, and the failure to sign up to the rules of International Law and the International Law of the Sea are leading humanity into peril and that we have to adhere to a firm stance, one that ensures progress, stability, and prosperity.