President Marcos has described the Philippines’ alliance with the United States as a “beacon of stability,” saying it continues to stand firm in the face of global uncertainty and challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. (Video courtesy of RTVM)
05:24During U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's visit to Manila last March, we committed to boosting
05:31defense industrial cooperation with the United States in areas such as production of unmanned systems,
05:37energetics, ship and aircraft maintenance, and repair. The Philippines continues to build its
05:43resources to be an effective partner to the United States, a significant contributor to our mutual
05:50defense. And this brings me to my second point. Strengthening our common security requires strengthening
05:58our economies. Simply put, we do not take our mature security alliance as a license to remain
06:05on autopilot, to be complacent. We are committed to pursue our growth targets and provide better
06:12opportunities for our people, ensuring that economic strength and resilience deliver the dividends
06:18for enduring stability and security. A few months ago, we signed a grant agreement with the United States
06:27Trade and Development Agency for the development of 155-kilometer freight railway connecting key ports of
06:34Subic, Clark, Manila, and Batangas. Many other areas are ripe for further economic cooperation between our countries,
06:44including ensuring semiconductor supply chain resilience, refining critical minerals, and developing civil nuclear power
06:53capabilities. Cooperation in these areas makes sense not only economically, but also strategically in support of our shared security.
07:03And this brings me to my last point. The alliance of the Philippines and the United States has reached
07:11a necessary and natural progression towards trilateral and minilateral, multilateral engagement, building individual
07:20and collective capabilities to address common challenges. Because today's challenges are not bound by borders,
07:27because of that cooperation is absolutely essential. We have a growing trilateral partnership with the United States and Japan,
07:37under which we held a maritime dialogue last December and a national security meeting last May.
07:45With the United States, we have held multilateral maritime cooperative activities with Australia, with Canada, with New Zealand, within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
07:55And we have seen the growth of our annual Balikatán exercises, with the participation of more partner nations and observers.
08:03Such minilateral cooperation is not limited to defence and security either. The railway project mentioned earlier is one of the infrastructure projects under the Luzon Economic Corridor, an initiative that has received significant support from Japan and the United States.
08:21This trilateral cooperation also includes engagements on cyber, digital and other areas of the new technologies.
08:33These have resulted from the firm commitment of three maritime democracies to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is connected, inclusive and prosperous.
08:43So I conclude with two brief caveats. First, like the United States, the Philippines is very much open to cooperating with its neighbours.
08:57We have many bilateral channels of communication and areas of cooperation.
09:03But in all of these, respect for our sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction is and has always been and will always be non-negotiable.
09:15And second, we are aware that the United States is much on its plate, both geopolitically and economically.
09:23We certainly are closely watching developments in Ukraine, the Middle East and other flashpoints because we are keenly aware that the outcomes of the situations in these regions
09:34will certainly influence their outlook of the global community elsewhere.
09:43And yet, we remain confident that the United States, as a self-declared Pacific nation, will remain oriented and committed to the Indo-Pacific, as history has consistently proven.
09:56Next year, we mark the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Philippines-United States diplomatic relations.
10:05The United States will also celebrate its 250th year of its nationhood.
10:11Oftentimes, we forget to bring geopolitical discussions to the heart of our respective national interests, and that is our people.
10:21These twin milestones are another opportunity, as friends, partners and allies, to work towards not only our common goals as governments, but towards a brighter future for our peoples.
10:34We have achieved so much together throughout history.
10:38I am humbled that there is still so much to be accomplished in the future.
10:43Lastly, the Philippines has the honour of chairing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Next Year .
10:53In its almost 60 years of existence, ASEAN has enjoyed decades of unparalleled growth and enduring peace, thanks to its unique brand of multilateralism.
11:05Its extended relations have also grown exponentially, and I look forward to welcoming the world, including President Trump, to the Philippines next year to showcase ASEAN's significant achievements and potential.
11:20So once again, I thank CSIS for putting together this excellent forum, the first of hopefully many to come.
11:28I look forward to more productive discussions that you will have today, and I am sure that those discussions will yield many, many outputs that will help us in our aspirations to maintain the peace and stability in our region.
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