PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday highlighted the plans of the Philippines to boost its defense capabilities and continue strengthening alliances with other countries.
“As we work to uphold the rule of law in international affairs, so shall we build our capabilities to protect our interest in our own maritime domain and in the global commons,” President Marcos said in his keynote address at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
President Marcos noted that under the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept, the Philippines shall develop its capacity to project its forces into areas “where we must, by constitutional duty and by legal right, protect our interests and preserve our patrimony.”
“And as we build our defense capabilities, so shall we continue to invest in diplomacy,” he said.
During the inter-governmental security forum, President Marcos said the Philippines’ commitment to ASEAN Centrality shall remain a core element of its foreign policy. He added the country will strengthen its alliance with the United States and strategic partnerships with Australia, Japan, and Viet Nam.
The Philippines will also pursue more robust collaboration with friends such as the Republic of Korea and India, among others, he said.
During the premiere defense forum, the President noted that collaborative endeavors among few states share specific interests that are “build into pillars that support the architecture of regional stability.”
“It is in this spirit that we pursue trilateral collaboration with Indonesia and Malaysia in the Celebes Sea. It is the same rationale behind our broader cooperation with Australia, Japan, and the United States in our exclusive economic zone,” the President said.
President Marcos also mentioned in his keynote address the Joint Vision Statement adopted last month by the Philippines, Japan, and the US on enhancing economic cooperation and contributing to regional peace and security through trilateral cooperation.
“These partnerships reflect our commitment to preserving, defending, and strengthening the rules-based regional order. And yet the scope, the depth, [and] the breadth of the challenges that our region now faces requires our collective, our inclusive, and our decisive action,” he pointed out.
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