President Marcos rejected the claim of a participant in the Shangri-La Dialogue that the Philippines' actions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) ruined peace in the region, saying the Philippines has always remained committed to genuine peace and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Centrality.

Marcos said this as he delivered the keynote address for the 21st Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday evening, May 31.

During the forum's interview portion, a participant blamed the Philippines' actions in the disputed waters which allegedly ruined peace in the region.

"I cannot imagine what you must be referring to. If the reference or the allusion is to the Philippines somehow tearing apart what we have agreed on in terms of ASEAN Centrality – quite the contrary,” Marcos responded.

"I think if you examine more closely the remarks that I have just made, I precisely focused on ASEAN Centrality, and that the principles that are laid down, that are involved in the concept of ASEAN Centrality are something that we must use to guide us," he said.

"If there have been distractions in the recent past, it’s time to return and to remember the core principles of ASEAN’s establishment aimed at advocating the common interests of nations and partnerships at the multilateral level," he added.

Marcos said the Philippines remains true to the principles upon which ASEAN was born, even though some of them are no longer spoken of today.

"They are as relevant today as they ever were, perhaps even more so because the global situation is a great deal, more complicated than it used to be," he said.

"I would even go far as to say, there is no such thing as a regional issue any longer. We have all experienced the unexpected effects of the war in Ukraine, of the conflict in the Middle East," he added.

Citing the South China Sea's importance as the passageway for half of the world’s trade, President Marcos said discussions on peace and stability and the freedom of navigation in the area must involve all parties.

"Because now, it is not just ASEAN member-states or stakeholders, and it is quite easy to see that it is, in fact, the entire world that have become stakeholders in the peace and stability of our region," he said.

With this, Marcos called on members of the Indo-Pacific region to unite and make a bold stand against violations of international rules-based orders in the South China Sea.

"We should transcend geopolitics, find common ground, [and] work to strengthen global institutions," he said.

"We need to begin by resoundingly rejecting misguided interpretations that paint our region as a mere theater of geopolitical rivalries. We are not mere bystanders to unfolding world events. We are the actors that drive those events. We are the main characters in our collective story. We are the owners of the narratives of our regional community," he added.

"Thus, we reject any attempt to deny [our] strategic agencies, especially by force that seek to subordinate our interests to anyone else’s," he continued.

According to Marcos, actions in the East China Sea and the South China Sea must be anchored on international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which served as the basis of the Philippines in implementing laws of the sea as far as the West Philippine Sea is concerned.

"We must accord due regard to the legitimate interest of all parties, and respect legally-settled rights," he said.