MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Philippines sees potential in cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that require deeper confidence building, Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos Sorreta said Friday.
"The attributes of this cooperation reflect the potential for strategic partnership, but it will require us to work hard to bring together people and institutions," Sorreta said at a press conference in Moscow.
The Philippine envoy noted the difficulty of building strategic ties because "the parties do not sufficiently trust each other" and the Southeast Asian region’s status as "the only one in the world where three superpowers – Russia, China and the United States – are in a virtual rivalry."
"This is potentially a problematic mix… We all need to work very hard to come to a strategic cooperation," Sorreta stressed.
ASEAN comprises the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. The association was set up on August 8, 1967 to accelerate economic, social and cultural development in the region.
The SCO is a political, economic and military alliance comprising Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The EEU, comprising Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, is an international organization that encourages regional economic integration through the free movement of goods, services, and people within the union.
