ASEAN Plus Three important for regional cooperation: K Shanmugam

SINGAPORE: The ASEAN Plus Three (APT) process has developed into an important vehicle for regional cooperation and a key component of the region’s architecture, Minister for Foreign Affairs K Shanmugam said.

Mr Shanmugam made the statement while attending the APT Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Minister Shanmugam also had a bilateral meeting with Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario.

Both men reaffirmed the excellent state of bilateral relations between Singapore and the Philippines, and exchanged views on international and regional developments.

The two foreign ministers also discussed developments in the South China Sea.

They agreed that differences in the South China Sea should be managed peacefully and expeditiously in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

— CNA/wm