If there's anything that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. achieved from his maiden participation at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), it's setting a positive tone for regional engagements under his administration.
Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo had this to say Monday morning, Nov. 14, just a few hours after Marcos came back home from Phnom Penh, Cambodia for the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summit and related summits.
"Certainly, his first ASEAN Summit stint has set a clear and promising tone of his six-year administration’s engagement with the member-states," the veteran solon said.
"PBBM (Marcos) was able to bring to light many of the current challenges posed by recent international developments, among which are the issues pertaining to the political turmoil in Myanmar, food self-sufficiency and security, adoption of renewable energies, the climate crisis, the global effects of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the threat of the use of nuclear weapons by North Korea, and our sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea (WPS)," Salo, chairman of the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, underscored.
Salo pointed out that even before arriving in the Cambodian capital, the Filipino leader stressed his aspiration for the adoption of the long-awaited Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea between ASEAN and China. Marcos followed through on this during the summit.
He further said Marcos was "able to demonstrate, amid our recovery after the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic, that the Philippines is prepared to help in such global crises and is willing to assert its sovereignty over its territories".
YOU'LL WANT TO READ THIS
https://mb.com.ph/2022/11/13/rockstar-of-asean-romualdez-gives-glimpse-of-how-marcos-has-been-received-by-peers/
" was able to effectively call for unity and responsiveness, urging the ASEAN to have a united voice in addressing various issues confronting it," he said.
And then there's the obvious warmth that Marcos was met with by his peer in the region. "As a Filipino, I am elated that our President is warmly welcomed by his peers in his first stint at the ASEAN Summit," Salo said.
"This bodes well for stronger diplomatic ties with our ASEAN peers, and hopefully lead to greater economic partnerships and collaborations between and among its member-states, as well as more investments to the Philippines," he added.