PBBM pushes for expanded economic ties; UNSC bid with Vietnam, UN

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

Marcos met with the Vietnamese leader on Monday night and thanked Vietnam for its continued assistance to the Philippines during periods of drought and rice supply challenges. (PCO photo)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is seeking expanded cooperation on economic development with Vietnam and the United Nations.

Marcos expressed this intention in a bilateral meeting with United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the sidelines of the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits here.

Marcos met with the Vietnamese leader on Monday night and thanked Vietnam for its continued assistance to the Philippines during periods of drought and rice supply challenges.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, through the Presidential Communications Office, said the two leaders “expressed commitment to strengthen bilateral relations across government, economic, and security cooperation.”

They also highlighted interest in “expanding economic diplomacy and enhancing bilateral strategic partnership.”

Meanwhile, in their meeting on Sunday, Marcos and Guterres discussed key areas of cooperation, reaffirming their dedication to maintaining peace and stability, fostering economic growth, and ensuring social development and equality.

“I conveyed that the Philippines will continue to be a champion of climate action and a reliable partner of the UN,” the President said in a statement.

Marcos also said he looks forward to fostering bilateral cooperation and the UN’s continued support to ASEAN and the ASEAN-UN framework.

ASEAN-UN

At the 15th ASEAN-UN Summit on Monday, Marcos underscored the enhanced coordination across ASEAN and UN bodies in advancing inclusive and sustainable progress and pushed for a development agenda “that leaves no one behind.”

“For the true measure of our partnership lies not only in words, but in the progress we secure for our peoples,” Marcos said.

“As we chart the course ahead, ASEAN and the United Nations must rally behind a development agenda that leaves no one behind and upholds dignity for all.”

He also pushed for the Philippines’ bid for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council as he highlighted Manila’s intensified efforts to uphold the rule of law and peaceful settlement of disputes.

“As a trusted partner, pathfinder, and committed peacemaker, the Philippines thanks our ASEAN colleagues for their steadfast endorsement of our bid for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council for 2027 to 2028,” he said.

“If elected, the Philippines will continue to uphold the primacy of the rule of law and the peaceful settlement of disputes in the maintenance of international peace and security.”

Marcos said the Philippines’ ratification of the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) solidified the Philippines’ commitment to uphold the rules-based order governed by international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“The agreement is especially important as the Philippines is adjacent to wide swathes of high seas in the Pacific and pockets of high seas in the South China Sea, as confirmed by the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award,” he said.

“On this note, we will seek to apply the Agreement to the pockets of the high seas in the South China Sea.”

Marcos said the Philippines remains committed to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and called on ASEAN to “fully harness its partnerships with the UN to accelerate meaningful progress.”