PBBM calls for peace, security, stability in SCS, Arabian Sea

FILE: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Thursday he is attending the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Gulf Cooperation Council (ASEAN-GCC) Summit to advance the country’s interest in various fields amid the current challenges and major geopolitical developments. (PCO Photo)

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday urged members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to stand united to maintain peace, security and stability in the South China Sea (SCS) and the Arabian Sea.

Marcos made the call during his intervention in the 1st ASEAN-GCC Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday.

In his speech, Marcos emphasized the importance of cooperation between the two regional organizations “located astride the major sea gates and vital corridors of the world’s commerce and communications.”

“It is imperative that we work together to promote peace, security, and stability in both our regions, the South China Sea, and the Arabian Sea, grounded on the rules-based international order to ensure stability and prosperity of our countries and the rest of the world,” Marcos said.

“Peace and stability are indispensable to ensuring continued prosperity in our respective regions and of the world,” he added.

Marcos said continued prosperity in both regions requires the establishment of “concrete areas of cooperation and complementary working relationships” among their respective specialized sectors.

He said the Philippines welcomes the adoption of the Joint Statement of the Summit of ASEAN and the GCC, as well as the ASEAN-GCC Framework of Cooperation from 2024 to 2028, stressing that the two documents would “chart our path forward, together, with greater political will.

“We thus welcome the adoption of the ASEAN-GCC Framework of Cooperation to guide our respective sectors under the political-security, economic, and socio-cultural pillars,” Marcos said.

“The Philippines looks forward to advancing our common interests, particularly on energy and food security, enhancement of logistics and supply chains, the digital economy, and the free and secure flow of goods, people, and services that currently underpin an interdependent global economy.”

Marcos urged the GCC nations, being the “central powerhouse of petrochemical industries,” to help ASEAN member-states in having a reliable and sufficient supply of oil and gas.

He added that the GCC could help Southeast Asian nations maintain their food security by filling up supply deficiencies in fertilizer export, noting that chemical fertilizers are the by-products of the petrochemical refinement process.

“We also recognize the potential synergies of capital investment between the hub economies of the GCC countries and the ASEAN Member States in our efforts to address food supply, renewable energy transformation, supply chain disruptions and to enhance the global logistics chains indispensable to trade and the international division of labor in manufacturing,” Marcos said.

The six GCC member countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam comprise the ASEAN.

GCC countries are home to an estimated 2.2 million Filipinos and roughly 2.7 million citizens of ASEAN member states working in critical fields.

Marcos said the success of ASEAN-GCC cooperation is founded on the two organizations’ “vibrant” people-to-people ties.

“It is, therefore, imperative that we ensure the free flow not only of goods, but also primarily of professionals, labor, and services between our regions, as well as their upskilling and the enhancement and protection of their rights and promotions of their welfare,” he said.

“The Philippines remains strongly committed to support a meaningful partnership with GCC countries for peace in our regions and the prosperity of our peoples. We cannot overstate the importance that we attach to this partnership between the ASEAN and the GCC, not only for our regions but for the entire global economy. It is our firm belief that our success will pave the way for all the world toward progress and recovery.”