By Shayne Elizabeth T. Flores

Republic of Slovenia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister H.E. Tanja Fajon expressed support for Philippine ownership of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) at the FEU Main Auditorium last March 12.

During the Far Eastern University (FEU) Department of International Studies’ Special Lecture ‘Slovenia in the Philippines: Bridging Asean Connectivity,’ the Slovenian foreign minister stated her insight on the Philippine-China dispute, stressing the validity of the International Maritime law and the 2016 Arbitral ruling.

“I think we have the same challenges. I also express solidarity with the Philippines with the challenges facing in the West Philippine Sea and Southeast China Sea so we commend strongly on the International Maritime Law and also in your case, the arbitration ruling of 2016,” she added.

Fajon claimed that the WPS conflict is no different from the current state in the West, citing the challenges suffered by the United Nations (UN) Security Council as violations of the UN Charter continue to occur.

“The institution and the security council are extremely challenged. It's outdated because since the beginning of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, we’re having countries that are violating the UN Charter law—that believe that with force, the land can be taken away and the international recognized borders can be changed. We are not accepting that,” she noted.

Preceded by political tension due to Ukraine’s integration with the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. As Russia expanded its control across the country, Ukrainian forces’ counter-offensive persisted, perpetuating the war for three years now.

Russian forces have slowly expanded the amount of territory they control over the past year, mostly in the east of Ukraine, but Ukrainian forces have made those advances as slow and difficult as possible and have staged a counter-offensive into Russian territory.

As a result, Slovenia seeks to establish a “partnership of trust” with the Philippines.

Fajon also emphasized Slovenia and the Philippines' mutual need for the ‘power of the rules’ to establish multilateralism and efficient institutions among other countries.

“We want to deal with challenges through a peaceful way with political means and nonmilitary solutions. We want to search for political dialogue. We are working on solidarity, on friendships, and on power of the rules,” she highlighted.

According to Fajon, Slovenia is aiming to build important partnerships and allies given the current shift in geopolitics, where Southeast Asia is growing more political and economically important.

“We are also making and building strong partnerships and allies with like-minded countries around the world so we are reaching out to South Asia, where we have friends, where we have allies,” she said.

The Slovenian delegate formally opened the first Slovenian Embassy in Manila, and in Southeast Asia as a whole, last March 11, where they had constructive discussions about strengthening political and economic ties with the Philippines. 

Moreover, FEU President Juan Miguel Montinola shared his enthusiasm for the partnership’s potential opportunities, such as academic and cultural collaborations.

“For FEU in particular, this gateway provides additional opportunities to collaborate with European academic institutions in research, faculty development, benchmarking, possibly student exchange,” he said.

Similarly, Ambassador of Slovenian Embassy in Manila Smiljana Knez expressed her delight about expanding the Slovenia-Philippine partnership to education.

“We are very much looking forward to strengthen our cooperation in all possible areas including Universities. Universities are cradles of civilization and our engine for social and economic development,” she stated.

The event was organized by the FEU Department of International Studies, FEU International Relations Office, Embassy of Slovenia in Manila, and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

(Photo by Melvin James Urubio/FEU Advocate)