Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos. (Photo: Antara)The two countries agreed to review the revisedborder crossing and the border patrol agreements, said Indonesian PresidentJoko Widodo at a joint press statement broadcast live.
The two sides also pledged to accelerate negotiations on thedelimitation of the continental shelf based on the 1982 UN Convention of Law ofthe Sea (UNCLOS).
Additionally, Widodo lauded the inking of the Memorandum ofUnderstanding on cooperation between the two countries in defence and security,which encourages strengthening water safety and security in border areas.
He also highly spoke of the renewed Trilateral CooperativeAgreement (TCA) between Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia,saying securing waterways is very important to avoid threats from hostage-takingand kidnapping.
Widodo said that he also discussed with his Philippinecounterpart on several matters, including fostering partnership betweenState-owned enterprises of the two sides in trade, infrastructure development,strategic industry, border cooperation, maritime border security safeguarding, and how to strengthen ASEAN’s centrality and unity.
Jakarta hopes ASEAN to continue to be a pioneer inmaintaining stability, peace and prosperity in the region, he emphasised.
President Marcos, for his part, said that Indonesia is oneof the Philippines’ closest neighbours and partners. The two sides plan to formtask forces at the technical level to expand bilateral ties in multiple areas,contributing to the regional peace and development./.
VNA
