(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is off to Malaysia to attend the 46th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit, where he is expected to uphold the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea.
Marcos, along with the members of his official delegation, will leave Manila on Sunday afternoon for a summit that will be held in Kuala Lumpur from May 26 to 27.
Foreign Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Dominic Xavier Imperial said Marcos would join fellow Southeast Asian leaders and dialogue partners in discussions aimed at shaping Asean’s policy direction, fostering consensus, and addressing regional and global issues.
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. PCO Photo
“In all these engagements, the president will continue to uphold and promote Philippine interests in Asean, such as deepening security and stability in the region, economic cooperation and broadening engagement with dialogue partners,” Imperial said in a press briefing in Malacañang.
“The president will continue to underscore the Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with international law, including the 1982 Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and the 2016 arbitral award,” he added.
Imperial said Marcos would push for speeding up discussions on a Code of Conduct between Asean and China, with the hope of concluding talks and coming up with an acceptable and binding agreement by 2026 to reduce the tensions in the South China Sea.
He also confirmed that Marcos would raise the urgency of concluding the long-delayed Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, a proposed agreement between Asean and China that aims to reduce tensions in the disputed waters.
“Back in 2023, the foreign ministers of Asean agreed to fast-track the discussions on the COC and this is what we are banking on during the summits. The president certainly will push for it. He will raise this with the leaders of the Asean and going back to that statement, it’s a reaffirmation of concluding it hopefully among Asean and China,” he said.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, which overlaps with the territories and claims of other countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia.
While in Malaysia, Imperial said Marcos would attend nine leaders’-level engagements from May 26 to 27, including the Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the Asean-GCC-China Summit.
The regional meetings will be hosted by Malaysia, this year’s Asean chair, with the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability.”
On May 26, his schedule includes the plenary and retreat sessions of the 46th Asean Summit, three interface meetings with Asean parliamentarians, business leaders and youth representatives, as well as the signing ceremony for the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Asean Vision 2045.
The following day, Marcos will chair the 16th Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area Summit and take part in both the 2nd Asean-GCC Summit and the inaugural Asean-GCC-China Summit.
During the summit, Marcos and other leaders are also expected to discuss pressing issues such as the situation in Myanmar, new US tariff policies, and other geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges affecting the region.
At least 22 outcome documents are expected to be issued during the summits, including the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Asean Vision 2045 and joint statements from the Asean-GCC and Asean-GCC-China summits.
The president is also expected to meet with the state leaders of Laos, Kuwait and Vietnam.
Marcos will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Trade Secretary Cristina Roque, amid the recent revamp in the Cabinet secretaries of the administration.
The caretaker committee while Marcos is abroad is expected to include Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla and Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III.
This will be Marcos’ second trip to Malaysia and his second trip abroad this year. It would be his 33rd trip abroad since 2022.
