(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday again left for Australia, this time for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-Australia special summit in Melbourne.
The summit will be held from March 4 to 6.
Marcos was invited by Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Asean-Australia relations, which began in 1974.
“The summit presents an opportunity to reiterate the Philippines’ national positions on regional and international issues and set the tone for Asean’s Dialogue Partner Summits later in the year,” the President said prior to his departure from Villamor Air Base.
Marcos will reiterate the country’s position on regional and international issues, particularly its unwavering assertion of its sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.
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“The summit will be an opportunity for the Philippines to thank Australia, Asean’s oldest Dialogue Partner, for its unwavering support for the rule of law, for the 1982 Unclos and the 2016 Arbitral Award, through timely statements of support as well as through capacity-building and academic initiatives to mainstream appreciation of international law,” he said.
Apart from the Leaders Plenary and Leaders Retreat, the two main engagements in the gathering, Marcos is also slated to hold bilateral meetings with the prime ministers of Cambodia and New Zealand.
He is also scheduled to give a talk at the Lowy Institute, where he will highlight the Philippines’ role as an active participant in world affairs and a contributor to the rules-based regional security architecture.
Marcos will also grab the chance to “promote Philippine business through the Philippine Business Forum” organized by Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual and also witness the launching of the expansion of the Victoria International Container Terminal, Australia’s first fully automated container terminal.
“This administration continues to ensure that our constructive engagements with Asean, our external partners and stakeholders will best serve our national interest, in as much as we promote the region’s peace, stability, security, and prosperity, for the well-being of the Filipino and all our region,” the Chief Executive said.
The Philippines and Australia established formal diplomatic relations on July 4, 1946.
The commonwealth is second home to around 408,000 Filipinos and Australians of Filipino descent.
Most are craft and related professionals; services and sales workers; skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers; technicians and associate professionals; and managers, among others.
In 2023, OFW remittances from Australia amounted to $301.2 million.
Australian Ambassador to Manila Hae Kyong Yu, meanwhile, said that Marcos’ visit to Australia last week reinforced the two countries’ commitment as strategic partners to shape a region that is open, stable and prosperous.
Marcos was in Australia on February 28 to address the Australian Parliament upon the invitation of Governor-General David Hurley, who represented Australia during the President’s inauguration in 2022.
“As an Ambassador, I know how historic the visit of President Marcos is — it demonstrates the value we place on each other[:] Australia Philippines as trusted friends,” Yu wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on March 1.
In a joint statement on February 29, Albanese said his country “sees the Philippines as a central player and a crucial partner for us in Southeast Asia.”
“Our foreign policy and national security depends on investing in our capabilities but also investing in our relationships,” Albanese said.
Marcos said “defense and security remains a key area of cooperation between the Philippines and of Australia.”
The President said “stability in the Indo-Pacific region is of utmost priority for both our countries.”
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