Statement by Amb. Albert del Rosario
Chair, Stratbase ADR Institute
Former Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs

We welcome the appointment of Secretary of State Antony Blinken with whom we had worked when he was Deputy Secretary of State. Before stepping down as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, I recall that we had put our heads together in Washington towards arriving at a decision to undertake joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea.

We of course welcome the appointment of Amb. Sung Kim as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs as it is often at that level where foreign policy is formulated and made to happen.

He will oversee foreign affairs policies involving East Asia and the Pacific, including China, Japan, South Korea and the 10-nation ASEAN, of which the Philippines is a member.

Acting Assistant Secretary Sung Kim is a truly effective and learned diplomat. We have had the good fortune of benefiting from his experience and skills. To manage the prevailing challenges on our side of the world, he will be instrumental for the US and its policy in the Indo-Pacific.

This is an opportunity for us to proffer our congratulations to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Acting Assistant Secretary Sung Kim who represent our sole treaty alliance.