EDITORIAL - ASEAN chair

Saying he was suffering from migraine, President Duterte skipped several key events of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos: meetings of ASEAN leaders with the United Nations, the United States and other dialogue partners. But the President showed up for the special role assigned to him at the leaders’ summit in Vientiane: to accept the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN.

The Philippines is assuming the chairmanship as ASEAN turns 50 in 2017, and as the 10 member-states fine-tune economic integration in the second year of the ASEAN Economic Community. The Philippines is also at the heart of an issue that was again the elephant in the room at the summit in Vientiane: Chinese compliance with a UN-backed arbitral ruling that invalidated Beijing’s nine-dash-line claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.

Only US President Barack Obama openly called on Beijing to respect the “binding” ruling, which is based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea that both China and the Philippines have ratified. Obama stressed the importance of the arbitral ruling despite the cancelation of his meeting with Duterte over harsh words uttered by the Philippine President. The scrapping of the meeting and Duterte’s subsequent expression of regret overshadowed many developments at the summit.

As ASEAN chair, President Duterte can dispel perceptions about his unprovoked pugnacity and show that he can be gracious to his counterparts. Apart from the personal transformation, he will have to ensure that the Philippines is prepared to chair the regional grouping.

For a year the country will be hosting several meetings and events leading up to the annual ASEAN leaders’ gathering and summits with its partners in the Asia-Pacific. The President has given priority to public safety, but there are many other aspects that must be addressed as ASEAN host. Facilities and infrastructure for the numerous events must be adequate. The nation cannot afford another weeklong lockdown of the entire Roxas and Macapagal Boulevards and periodic shutdowns of EDSA and surrounding thoroughfares to make way for VIPs, like in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit last year. Venues outside crowded Metro Manila must be considered to avoid that madness.

Chairing ASEAN puts the spotlight on the host country. It’s a chance for the nation and its leader to shine.