PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—“Our people look to their leaders, to us, to correctly navigate the uncertain waters of this new world.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made this assertion on Sunday as he urged his fellow leaders to “act decisively and immediately” on world’s pressing concerns: climate change and food security.
At the 17th East Asia Summit here, Marcos said partnership of world leaders in terms of addressing such concerns “will make us strong.”
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“Our partnerships will give us wisdom. The future awaits,” he said before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, US President Joe Biden, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, India Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol and Australia Prime Minister Anthony Norman Albanese.
In terms of post-pandemic economic recovery, Marcos said stakeholders in ASEAN and East Asia must build on and improve existing strategies towards holistic and green, and sustainable development to ensure environmentally-sound economic progress.
“It has become glaringly clear that there is a dire need to strengthen food security towards self-sufficiency in our region, to increase adaptability and resilience in the face of threats to the global supply chain,” he said.
“It is incumbent upon us, for our sake and that of future generations, to act decisively and immediately on climate change,” he added.
Meanwhile, Marcos also put his expectations on leaders he faced with, who he said have “a moral and legal obligation to work towards finding resolutions and not resort to inciting conflicts” amid tensions in the South China Sea.
“Let us be guided by the universal principles of peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation as laid out in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia,” he said.
The Philippines, as an archipelagic country with porous maritime borders, considers maritime cooperation as a key priority in bilateral and multilateral cooperation and engagements, specifically in the South China Sea,” Marcos noted.