MANILA – Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo is set to engage foreign ministers of the Group Seven (G7) member countries on security issues confronting the Indo-Pacific region, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.
Manalo is heading to Italy to participate in the expanded G7 Ministerial Meeting on November 25-26, upon the invitation of Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
The meeting aims to strengthen G7’s role in promoting stability in the face of major crises taking place globally.
The gathering will focus on the situation in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and the stability of the Indo-Pacific, among other key regional issues.
Previously, top diplomats of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States had backed Manila in calling out Beijing’s “dangerous and obstructive maneuvers,” including the use of water cannons and ramming against Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
In the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New York in September this year, the group said they remain “seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and reiterated their strong opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion.”
They reaffirmed that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, and again opposed China’s “militarization and coercive and intimidation activities” in the disputed waters.
During his trip to Italy, Manalo will also meet with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States.
Meetings with senior Italian officials to discuss bilateral cooperation are likewise being arranged.
The DFA said Manalo would also meet with Food and Agriculture Organization Director General Qu Dongyu, attend the launch of the Mirei Exhibit and meet members of the Filipino community, and deliver a lecture at the Sapienza University of Rome. (PNA)