President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 25, is not only an opportunity to lay down his plans for the country, but it is also a chance to introduce his foreign policy, particularly in forging new friendships with non-traditional allies such as Russia, the Arab States, and India.

Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, who is expected to retain his post as chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement that the SONA will also be Marcos’ chance “to articulate as President to the diplomatic corps his guiding foreign policy doctrine.”

“Because much of the current threats to economic recovery are externally driven, domestic policy and foreign policy will be deeply interconnected in the coming months. The SONA is the first best chance for PBBM to articulate to the world how he will navigate this dynamic,” he added.

“While domestic policy is a power shared among the three branches, foreign policy is almost exclusively the domain of the President. He is, after all, the chief architect of foreign policy. Tomorrow, the entire diplomatic corps will be at the State of the Nation Address. That will be his chance to articulate what the Marcos Jr. Doctrine will be.”

The congressman-economist believes the Chief Executive should make new alliances that will give the country access to cheap sources of food, fuel, and fertilizer.

Marcos, he stressed, must “make deals in the national interest that are not necessarily perfectly aligned with the designs of our traditional allies.”

Salceda, in particular, identified Russia, India, and some Arab and European states as nations that would provide economic, political, and even military benefits to the country.

Citing former President Rodrigo Duterte’s strong relations with Moscow, he said that Marcos can capitalize on this friendship since Russia is the world’s leading source of fertilizers, on top of being an oil and gas producer.
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The Philippines also has “very good friends”, particularly the oil-rich states “awash with cash now because of the fuel price hikes.”

“How do we leverage our traditional cultural ties, their affection for us due to our OFWs, and their search for new investment destinations?,” he asked, sharing that some Middle East experts told him of the the possible interest of Kuwait in financing some of the country’s infrastructure projects, including the Bicol railway.

India is another “very promising partner,” the Bicol lawmaker said, adding that he has been one of the strongest proponents of a more robust India-Philippine ties because of the Asian country’s expertise in technology, research, and maritime defense.

“India is becoming the world’s powerhouse for cheap but effective pharmaceuticals. We need that for universal health care and for COVID-19 management,” he said.

The Albay lawmaker is confident of Marcos’ ability to usher in a strong foreign policy because it was his father, former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who normalized the Philippines’ relations with China.

He described Marcos’ foreign policy as this: “New goals, new friends, new projects.”

“New global goals to join OECD and be a rich country, as well as to be a regionally respected military and economic power; New friends other than the ones we have always run to or have always competed for our attention; New projects with our existing partners and allies, to redefine the dynamic of our relations with them,” he explained.