PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is not a lapdog, as alleged when the US gave to the Philippines the role as the country-coordinator in the regular Association of Southeast Asian Nations-United States Dialogue.
In fact, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the role as country coordinator is a three-year cyclical role within the regional grouping and not a special privilege.
To the DFA, the remarks of United States President Barack Obama that the Philippines is its “coordinating country” for ASEAN-US dialogue, is simply a reiteration of that role.
In a meeting at the Oval Office last July 29, US President Obama told Mrs. Arroyo that he is looking forward to traveling in Southeast Asia and to the Philippines as the coordinating country in the U.S. relationship with ASEAN.
Obama’s remark was an acknowledgment of the Philippines’ current role as country coordinator rather than as a designation, DFA spokesperson Eduardo Malaya said.
The Philippines took over the three-year rotating responsibility from Singapore during the 42nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) held in Phuket, Thailand last July 22. (PIA)