President Marcos has called on China and the United States of America (USA) to engage in meaningful discussions to limit any nuclear arms build-up in the Indo-Pacific, reminding them of the horrors nuclear weapons brought to the people in the region.

Marcos said this in his keynote speech to the Australian think tank Lowy Institute on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne on Monday, March 4.

In his speech, the President noted how the rising geopolitical tension between China and the US could affect the people in the Indo-Pacific region.

He acknowledged the "undeniable importance" of China and the US to the security situation and the economic evolution of the region.

"We must deal with both of them constructively," Marcos said.

"We, in the Indo-Pacific, cannot ignore the existential impact of great power rivalries upon the survival of our peoples and our communities," he added.

With this, President Marcos hoped that China and the US could bring Indo-Pacific issues to the fore of global conversations on nuclear disarmament as he sounded alarm on the seeming "reversal of the historic trend" of decreasing nuclear stockpiles in the region.

"We must remember that the tragic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons use were borne by peoples of this region, the hibakusha of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the victims of nuclear tests in the Pacific," Marcos said.

"The People’s Republic of China and the United States must engage in meaningful dialogue to maintain strategic stability, and to limit any nuclear arms build-up," he added.

Marcos said the Philippines, Australia, and Japan are at the forefront of efforts to reduce nuclear risks in the region.

"These nuclear risks demonstrate the need for greater power--- for great powers to manage their strategic competition in a responsible manner," he said.

"We, in the Indo-Pacific, must ensure that great powers do not treat the world as an arena for their competition," he added.