PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will attend the 46th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit and related meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from May 26 to 27.
Marcos will promote anew the country’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with international law while pushing to expedite talks on a binding Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea (SCS).
Foreign Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Dominic Xavier Imperial, in a briefing in Malacanang yesterday, said the President will attend nine summit-related events and three bilateral meetings, including the Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the Asean-GCC-China Summit.
“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.
“Furthermore, 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 Sea) and the 2016 arbitral award,” he added.
Imperial said Marcos would push for fast-tracking the 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.
The DFA official confirmed that Marcos will raise the urgency of concluding the long-delayed Code of Conduct in the SCS, 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.
Imperial said that during the Asean Summit, which Malaysia chairs this year and has the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability,” Marcos will attend nine Summit-related meetings, including the plenary and retreat sessions of the 46th Asean Summit, the three interface meetings with Asean parliamentarians, youth, and business leaders, and a signing ceremony for the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Asean 2045 on May 26.
On May 27, the President would chair and preside over the 16th Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (Bimp-Eaga) Summit and attend the Asean-GCC and Asean-GCC-China Summits.
Imperial said there is no report yet of a possible meeting with the Filipino community in Malaysia, but Marcos is expected to have bilateral meetings with the leaders of Laos, Kuwait, and Vietnam on the sidelines of the summit. He said other meetings are still being finalized.
He said outcome documents are expected to be issued during the summit, including the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Asean Vision 2045 and joint statements from the Asean-GCC and Asean-GCC-China Summits.
He said other issues expected to be discussed during and at the sidelines of the summit are the new tariff policies of the United States, the political crisis in Myanmar, and other geopolitical and geo-economic challenges affecting the region.
The President, who is set to leave on Sunday, would be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Trade Secretary Cristina Roque.
The caretaker committee while Marcos is abroad is expected to include Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla and Agrarian Reform Secretary Corado 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.
