11 ASEAN Nations Rally in Manila as Mideast Risks Mount
(MENAFN) Leaders of the 11-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations opened their 49th summit in Pasay City on Sunday, pressing for stronger unity on regional peace, security and prosperity as geopolitical and global pressures intensify.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Philippine president, whose country holds the bloc’s rotating chair, used his opening address to urge member states to work more closely together.
“We differ in size, history, culture, and circumstance, but become as equals, carrying the hopes of our peoples and the shared responsibility to transform them into a common purpose,” Marcos told the assembled leaders.
“We come from different shores, yet we have chosen to travel forward together,” he added.
The three-day gathering is being held under the theme “Navigating Our Future Together.” Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, is attending as a guest, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney joined the bloc’s leaders for closed-door talks.
Marcos warned that geopolitical tension, economic uncertainty, emerging technologies, climate change and transnational threats are transforming the region faster than any single country can respond. He called on members to make decisions collectively to tackle shared problems and prepare for future generations.
“Over the coming days, alongside our external partners, the choices we will make shape how ASEAN meets the challenges of today, seizes the opportunities of tomorrow, and prepares the region for the coming generations,” he said.
The bloc is set to hold separate summits with China, Japan, Australia, India, South Korea and the US over the course of the gathering. US President Donald Trump is expected to arrive Tuesday.
Middle East conflict heightens regional alarm
Citing the Middle East conflict, Marcos cautioned that Southeast Asia could face disruptions to transport, energy and food supplies.
“ASEAN responded quickly, rethinking, recalibrating, and redesigning, while keeping our longer-term work at center,” he said.
“This collective work served us well and enabled us to focus on the task before us,” he added.
No single member state, Marcos stressed, has all the resources, capabilities or answers needed to meet new challenges.
“But where national capacities are tested, regional strength reinforces,” he said.
“That principle has guided us in our first year of implementing ASEAN 2045, our shared future through three priorities: peace and security anchors, prosperity corridors, and people empowerment,” Marcos added.
Security and maritime cooperation take center stage
In the summit’s plenary session, Marcos took stock of the bloc’s progress under Philippine leadership and set out priorities for the ASEAN 2045 vision.
That vision, he said, demands an honest look at whether regional institutions can handle increasingly complex security threats, and whether economies can stay competitive as technology, trade, energy demand and supply chains shift.
The Philippines has built its chairmanship around three pillars: peace and security anchors, prosperity corridors and people empowerment.
Under the first pillar, Marcos emphasized preserving regional peace and stability, deepening maritime cooperation and pursuing an “effective and substantive” code of conduct in the South China Sea. He said the code must conform to international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
He also pointed to disaster preparedness, climate risks and stronger regional responses to transnational and emerging threats.
A widening circle of partners
Marcos highlighted the growth of ASEAN’s diplomatic network, noting that seven new high contracting parties have joined the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
Türkiye became ASEAN’s 12th dialogue partner, while Denmark, Germany and Qatar were admitted as sectoral dialogue partners, he said.
“The next task is to ensure that this network delivers greater benefits for our peoples,” Marcos said.
He argued that ASEAN’s partnerships must serve regional priorities, meet member states’ needs and convert political goodwill into practical cooperation.
“Our partnership should continue to advance ASEAN priorities, respond to the needs of our member states and turn political goodwill into practical cooperation, with ASEAN at the center of the regional architecture that we have built,” he said.
“We should therefore continue to deepen our partnerships on the basis of mutual benefit, translate comprehensive and strategic partnerships and plans of action into concrete cooperation,” he added.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Philippine president, whose country holds the bloc’s rotating chair, used his opening address to urge member states to work more closely together.
“We differ in size, history, culture, and circumstance, but become as equals, carrying the hopes of our peoples and the shared responsibility to transform them into a common purpose,” Marcos told the assembled leaders.
“We come from different shores, yet we have chosen to travel forward together,” he added.
The three-day gathering is being held under the theme “Navigating Our Future Together.” Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, is attending as a guest, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney joined the bloc’s leaders for closed-door talks.
Marcos warned that geopolitical tension, economic uncertainty, emerging technologies, climate change and transnational threats are transforming the region faster than any single country can respond. He called on members to make decisions collectively to tackle shared problems and prepare for future generations.
“Over the coming days, alongside our external partners, the choices we will make shape how ASEAN meets the challenges of today, seizes the opportunities of tomorrow, and prepares the region for the coming generations,” he said.
The bloc is set to hold separate summits with China, Japan, Australia, India, South Korea and the US over the course of the gathering. US President Donald Trump is expected to arrive Tuesday.
Middle East conflict heightens regional alarm
Citing the Middle East conflict, Marcos cautioned that Southeast Asia could face disruptions to transport, energy and food supplies.
“ASEAN responded quickly, rethinking, recalibrating, and redesigning, while keeping our longer-term work at center,” he said.
“This collective work served us well and enabled us to focus on the task before us,” he added.
No single member state, Marcos stressed, has all the resources, capabilities or answers needed to meet new challenges.
“But where national capacities are tested, regional strength reinforces,” he said.
“That principle has guided us in our first year of implementing ASEAN 2045, our shared future through three priorities: peace and security anchors, prosperity corridors, and people empowerment,” Marcos added.
Security and maritime cooperation take center stage
In the summit’s plenary session, Marcos took stock of the bloc’s progress under Philippine leadership and set out priorities for the ASEAN 2045 vision.
That vision, he said, demands an honest look at whether regional institutions can handle increasingly complex security threats, and whether economies can stay competitive as technology, trade, energy demand and supply chains shift.
The Philippines has built its chairmanship around three pillars: peace and security anchors, prosperity corridors and people empowerment.
Under the first pillar, Marcos emphasized preserving regional peace and stability, deepening maritime cooperation and pursuing an “effective and substantive” code of conduct in the South China Sea. He said the code must conform to international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
He also pointed to disaster preparedness, climate risks and stronger regional responses to transnational and emerging threats.
A widening circle of partners
Marcos highlighted the growth of ASEAN’s diplomatic network, noting that seven new high contracting parties have joined the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
Türkiye became ASEAN’s 12th dialogue partner, while Denmark, Germany and Qatar were admitted as sectoral dialogue partners, he said.
“The next task is to ensure that this network delivers greater benefits for our peoples,” Marcos said.
He argued that ASEAN’s partnerships must serve regional priorities, meet member states’ needs and convert political goodwill into practical cooperation.
“Our partnership should continue to advance ASEAN priorities, respond to the needs of our member states and turn political goodwill into practical cooperation, with ASEAN at the center of the regional architecture that we have built,” he said.
“We should therefore continue to deepen our partnerships on the basis of mutual benefit, translate comprehensive and strategic partnerships and plans of action into concrete cooperation,” he added.
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