Highlighting the 35 years of partnership between Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), President Marcos urged fellow leaders to "choose well" in terms of sustaining its decades-long ties.

Speaking at the ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit in Kazan, Russia, on Thursday, June 18, Marcos said the summit was not just a ceremony but an opportunity to renew the call to action.

"Your Majesty, Excellencies, colleagues, guided by our chair-ship theme, navigating our future together, the Philippines approaches this summit not just as a ceremony of commemoration but as a renewed call to action," Marcos said in remarks.

"Thirty-five years is a foundation. What we build on it is our choice and our responsibility. Let us choose well," he urged them.

Marcos also stressed that mutual respect, sovereign equality, and the commitment to peaceful cooperation between Russia and ASEAN enshrined in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation "remain as relevant today as they were then."

"They are not merely historical anchors. They are active guides for the work still before us," he said.

Citing deepening geopolitical uncertainty, Marcos has called on the leaders of Russia and ASEAN to strengthen their maritime security and counterterrorism cooperation.

Marcos said they must animate their cooperation on peace, security, and stability.

"In an era of deepening geopolitical uncertainty, the value of steady political and security engagement between ASEAN and Russia cannot be overstated," he said.

The President noted that transnational threats such as terrorism, illicit trafficking, cybercrime, and online scams "do not respect borders, and neither can our responses."

"We must strengthen practical cooperation on maritime security and counterterrorism, reinforce our collective resilience in cyberspace, and develop the institutional habits of anticipation rather than mere reaction," he said.

Marcos said Russia and ASEAN must be more deliberate and ambitious in expanding their economic partnership, stressing that their trade and investment ties "have grown but they have yet to reach full potential."

"We must be more deliberate and more ambitious in expanding economic opportunities, improving trade facilitation, deepening investment flows, and connecting our business communities," Marcos said.

The Chief Executive underscored that their economic cooperation must also be inclusive, noting that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) must have a place in the partnership and that their cooperation must extend to emerging sectors.

Marcos further said food and energy security deserve a particular attention, "as these are the foundations on which broader stability rests."

Marcos emphasized during the summit that they must invest in scholarships, student exchanges, academic partnerships, tourism, and the arts.

He said these are "not peripheral to our relationship, they are at its living core."

"The connections forged between our peoples outlast any summit declaration and carry our partnership forward in ways that policy alone cannot do," Marcos said.

"We must continue to invest in these bonds, placing our youth not merely at the receiving end of this cooperation, but at its center, as the generation that will ultimately decide what ASEAN-Russia relations will become," Marcos added.