STATEMENT OF SENATOR RICHARD J. GORDON ON THE SCHEDULED RATIFICATION OF LANDMARK MARITIME BOUNDARY DEAL BETWEEN RP AND INDONESIA

Congratulations are in order for President Rodrigo R. Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo on their announcement at the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok that the Philippines and Indonesia will ratify in August, a deal to establish a boundary between overlapping exclusive economic zones.

Such an agreement between the two presidents is a landmark development that shows the productive result of friendly, amicable and sincere negotiations on such a contentious issue like exclusive economic zones. There should be no room for inflexibility or points of view cast in stone so that good relations are enhanced between neighboring countries, especially in Asia.