President Marcos' speech focuses on the importance of upholding international law, ASEAN centrality, and the role of middle powers in regional stability
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I thank the International Institute for Strategic Studies for convening this open, frank, and constructive conversation on pressing strategic issues confronting our region. The Treaty of Paris between Spain and the United States crystallized our islands into a cohesive whole. The Treaty of Washington clarified the extent of our sovereignty and patrimony lines set by international powers.
Accordingly, we have made a conscious effort to align our definition of our territory and our maritime zones with what international law permits and recognizes. This has been inscribed in Article 1 of our constitution. In the West Philippine Sea, we are on the frontlines of efforts to assert the integrity of the UNCLOS as a Constitution of the Oceans.
In this solid footing and through our clear moral ascendancy, we find the strength to do whatever it takes to protect our sovereign home – to the last square inch, to the last square millimeter. For the past seventy-nine years, this rules-based order has allowed our region to flourish. The stability and the predictability that it has engendered been crucial to the success of the stories of our region — be it the postwar revival of Japan, the economic miracles of Korea and in Southeast Asia, the rise of China and of India.
In 1982, we led our global community in unanimously adopting the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes. This affirmed that differences amongst nations must always be solved peacefully, through legal and diplomatic processes, never through the threat or the use of force.In our region, recent patterns of aggression and militarization and emerging arms races threaten our lands of promise with an uncertain future.
Fifth, the global commons will continue to be crucial to the security of all states in the region. Access of developing countries to the high seas and to outer space, and the peaceful uses of science and technologies, is crucial to international development. These seven realities muddle the waters that we have to navigate in our collective journey as a community of nations. We cannot reverse course. We must persevere. We must push through.
Any state that professes a stake in the continued peace and stability of this region must respect ASEAN Centrality not only with words, but with action. All partnerships and arrangements must never displace or dilute, but rather uphold and complement ASEAN’s central role. Thus, we reject any attempt to deny strategic agencies, especially by force that seek to subordinate our interests to anyone else’s.
Pending the total elimination of nuclear weapons, China and the United States have a unique responsibility to undertake concrete measures to reverse the recent increase in nuclear stockpiles and to alleviate the risks of nuclear conflict.Together with our strategic partners Australia and Japan, the Philippines has been seeking to bring Indo-Pacific issues to the fore.
As a Pacific nation, the Philippines shares with our eastern kin the same experience of a climate-vulnerable country. By virtue of geographic proximity and the presence of Filipinos in Taiwan, we have a legitimate interest in cross-Strait issues. The DPRK must comply with all its international obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions and commit to constructive and peaceful dialogue with the Republic of Korea.
Attempts to apply domestic laws and beyond one’s territory and jurisdiction violate international law, exacerbate tensions, and undermine regional peace and security. We will continue to build upon our significant footprint in enriching UNCLOS, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the High Seas Treaty.
Collaborative endeavors among a few states that share specific interests built into pillars that support the architecture of regional stability. These partnerships reflect our commitment to preserving, defending, and strengthening the rules-based regional order. This landmark treaty is meant to promote perpetual peace, everlasting amity, and cooperation amongst nations. Its goal is to contribute to their strength, the solidarity, and closer relationship.It is no wonder then that the 54 Parties from all regions of the world, many of which are represented in this Dialogue, have now acceded to this landmark instrument, with nearly a dozen more countries expressing their desire to be bound by the TAC’s tenets.
In all our multilateral engagements, we seek to bridge global conversations with our unique regional perspectives. We’ll bring our experience as a trusted partner, credible pathfinder, and committed peacemaker when elected to the Nations Security Council for the term of 2027-2028.
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