PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday pushed for continued cooperation in the fight against transnational crime as he expressed appreciation for Australia's support to the country's anti-trafficking work plan.
Marcos also expressed commitment to battle other crimes in a bid to achieve regional peace and security.
He said the assurance coming from the Quad, a four-member security dialogue that includes Australia, of unwavering support for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) unity and Centrality is a welcome pronouncement.
“It is in line with the view that such mini-lateral mechanisms should complement the ASEAN-centered regional security architecture,” Marcos said.
At the ASEAN-Australia Summit here, Marcos said an anti-trafficking partnership with Australia, which is based on the ASEAN Convention on Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, will strengthen the regional responses against the crime.
The cooperation will also "keep us in step with the constantly evolving schemes of transnational criminals and traffickers," he said.
In terms of economy, Marcos called for Australia's continued collaboration with the ASEAN Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Council in improving and strengthening the TVET systems and programs of the ASEAN member states.
With the Philippines being inaugural chair of the ASEAN TVET Council from 2020-2022, Marcos said the country expects increased training and scholarships among specialists and students.
This will be in preparation for the anticipated conclusion of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area upgrade, which will further encourage trade in services, among other updates in today’s digital age.
In climate change mitigation, Marcos invited Australia to strengthen its support for the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB), the ASEAN's lead institution in biodiversity conservation and promotion.
While in terms of food security, Marcos said the country welcomes an engagement with Australia on the implementation of the Strategic Plan for ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry for 2016 - 2025.
"Food-resilience and food self-sufficiency are two of our very basic and foremost priorities in the Philippines. We need to protect the region and our countries from shocks on the global food value chain, as well as against the adverse effects of climate change," he said.
Meanwhile, in a brief conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Marcos said all concepts that "we first started to discuss when we were in New York, we are continuing to develop in our government."
"So that when the time comes this concept that you have introduced to us on economic stability, is something... that ASEAN, the Philippines—we will continue to develop more of these ideas, and these concepts," he said.
The Japanese leader said he was looking forward to receiving President Marcos in Japan. No date has yet been set for the state visit.