With President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s maiden participation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit just about over, House Speaker Martin Romualdez came out with a summation of just how effective the Filipino leader's interactions have been.
“President Marcos has skilfully managed to promote our country’s national interest not only through his participation during the summit sessions but also in his interactions and exchanges with fellow leaders in ASEAN and dialogue partners,” Romualdez said Sunday, Nov. 13.
Sunday was the last day of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related summits.
Romualdez accompanied President Marcos in most of the sessions of the summits and in several of the bilateral meetings at the event, which took place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The Speaker had earlier described Marcos as a sort of "rockstar" at the summit, based on what he observed was the other leaders' eagerness to meet and talk business with the latter.
Among others, Romualdez, Leyte’s 1st district congressman, cited the President’s call during the ASEAN-China summit for the immediate conclusion of a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea (SCS) based on international law.
In a brief exchange with Marcos, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said he looks forward to working with the Philippines and other ASEAN countries for peace and stability in the SCS based on mutual respect and international laws, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“The agreement between President Marcos and Premier Li to further enhance Philippine-China relations bodes well for the easing of tensions in the South China Sea and for our country’s energy and food security,” commented Romualdez, Marcos’s top ally in the Philippine legislature.
Speaking through an interpreter, Li underscored that what two countries have in common “far outweighs” their differences.
President Marcos agreed with Li, citing the courage of his father, President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., to take the initiative in 1975 to visit China and establish diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“It did, but it was something very important to us... he has been proven right because the partnership with China has been a great benefit to both our countries,” President Marcos said.
President Marcos is set to visit China in January 2023.