MANILA: ThePhilippines said Sunday it had filed diplomatic protests overNorth Korea's planned rocket launch with the UN,China, and Southeast Asian nations which hold a summit this week.
A topUSdiplomat has previously said that debris from the launch are expected to land off thePhilippines, an archipelago made up of thousands of islands.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said thatManila's diplomatic missions at the United Nations and inChina,Pyongyang's closest ally, were asked to lodge the protest with their North Korean counterparts.
Del Rosario said protest letters were also sent toNorth Korea's diplomatic posts in members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which thePhilippinesis a member, before a meeting of the bloc this week.
ThePhilippinesestablished diplomatic ties withNorth Koreain 2000, butPyongyanghas no embassy inManilaand is represented by a non-resident envoy based inThailand.
"I will look for an opportunity to raise our position inCambodiaat ASEAN," said del Rosario, referring to the group's annual summit, a two-day meeting which starts inCambodiaon Tuesday.
He added that the rocket launch was in clear violation of UN resolutions.
Kurt Campbell, theUSassistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said last month the rocket launch would impact "in an area roughly betweenAustralia,Indonesiaand thePhilippines."
He made the comments in a message toAustralia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr, according to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Pyongyangannounced last month it would launch a rocket between April 12-16 to place a satellite in orbit, sparking alarm in the region.
TheUnited Statesand other nations say the launch is a disguised ballistic missile test, and would breach a UN ban on North Korean missile launches.
Washingtonhas also said that a launch would breach a February deal, under whichPyongyanghad agreed to a partial halt to nuclear activities and an end to missile tests in return for food aid.
TheUShas since suspended plans to provide food aid.
Del Rosario said thePhilippineshad already asked theUnited Statesto help share intelligence information on the rocket launch, while the militaries of both sides were coordinating to track its path.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.