Philippines, Australia must maximize strategic partnership – President Marcos

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Australia must fully maximize the potential of their strategic partnership, President Marcos said after arriving from his two-day visit to Canberra on Thursday night, describing the two nations as “forward-looking” and “law-abiding maritime states.”

Marcos delivered an address before the Australian parliament on Thursday morning, where he underscored the importance of cooperation among nations in the face of threats to the rule of law, peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

The President’s plane landed in Manila at 8:30 p.m., according to Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil.

In a video message posted on the Facebook page of PCO, Marcos cited an “increased tempo” in bilateral engagements between the two countries in various areas of cooperation, including defense and security, since they elevated their bilateral relations from comprehensive to strategic partnership in September last year.

“Australia remains, and will continue to be, one of our closest friends. In the spirit of bayanihan and mateship, we shall forge ahead in fully maximizing the potentials and the gains from this Strategic Partnership between our two forward-looking, law-abiding maritime states,” the President said.

“I conveyed to Australian legislators the important role of both our countries as proponents of the rules-based international order and its significance amidst the present complexities in global geopolitics,” Marcos said.

“As democratic maritime nations, access to the global commons such as the oceans and the seas must be ensured and safeguarded,” he said.

Marcos made a state visit to the Australian capital from Feb. 28 to 29 upon the invitation of Governor-General David Hurley.

In his speech before Australian legislators on Thursday, Marcos vowed to resist any effort by foreign aggressors to seize even an inch of Philippine territory.

Before flying to Canberra on Wednesday, Marcos described the presence of Chinese navy vessels in the West Philippine Sea as “worrisome” but maintained the country would not be deterred in defending its maritime territory and protecting its fishermen.

While in Canberra, Marcos also had a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, where they discussed areas of cooperation the two countries can undertake, particularly on trade, investment and security.

The two leaders met in Manila in September last year.

The Philippines and Australia signed three agreements covering issues of maritime domain, cyber and critical technology, and effective implementation of the respective competition laws and policies of the two countries during Marcos’ visit.

Special summit

The President is set to return to Australia tomorrow, this time in Melbourne, where he will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Australia Special Summit on March 4 to 6.

At a recent Palace briefing, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for ASEAN affairs Daniel Espiritu said Marcos is expected to thank Australia for its support for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ratified in 1982 and the 2016 arbitral award for the Philippines over its maritime dispute against China.

He said Marcos is also expected to highlight ASEAN-Australia cooperation on maritime issues, climate and clean energy track, people-to-people exchange and economic cooperation during the leaders’ plenary.  ?

The President will also attend “working level events” organized by Australia such as the maritime cooperation track where Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo is expected to deliver keynote remarks together with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Espiritu said. — Michael Punongbayan