Marcos to push food security, disaster response at ASEAN

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos will raise several issues, including post-pandemic recovery, food security and disaster response, when he confers with fellow world leaders at the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits and Related Meetings in Phnom Penh, Cambodia next week.

At a pre-departure briefing at Malacañang yesterday, Assistant Secretary Nathaniel Imperial of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)’s Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs said Marcos is also set to hold bilateral meetings with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Phnom Penh.

Imperial said meetings with other leaders are still being finalized ahead of his schedule to leave for Cambodia on Nov. 9.

The ASEAN’s annual summit and other related meetings will happen from Nov. 10 to 13. This will be the first ASEAN summit to be held in person since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

Marcos is expected to present the Philippines’ post pandemic “economic recovery and transformation” and the country’s disaster management efforts to avert the negative impact of climate change, said Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu of the DFA’s Office of ASEAN Affairs.

“At the top of the list is the post pandemic economic recovery and transformation. So that would cover food security, energy security, digital transformation and the digital economy. Now, there are also climate change (issues) inasmuch as this is very much related to our disaster management efforts in the Philippines,” Espiritu told the same media briefing.

He said Marcos is also expected to raise international concerns, including diplomatic efforts to immediately end violence in Myanmar, the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine and the dispute in the South China Sea.

“With regard to international issues, especially on Myanmar, we are very much at the forefront of the call for the implementation of the five-point consensus,” Espiritu said.

At a summit in Jakarta on April 24, 2021, nine ASEAN leaders agreed to five points: the immediate cessation of violence, a dialogue among concerned parties, mediation by an ASEAN special envoy, provision of humanitarian aid and a visit to Myanmar by the special envoy to meet all concerned parties.

“And then on other international issues such as Ukraine, we are of course, calling for cessation of hostilities and the return of the concerned parties to the negotiating table,” Espiritu said.

“Now, the South China Sea will also be there because we always carry that in all of our meetings in international fora,” he said.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Marcos’ first bilateral meeting will be with Cambodia’s Hun Sen, the host of the ASEAN summit.

Imperial said Marcos would also hold bilateral talks with South Korean leader Yoon.

Among the topics they will discuss will be the conclusion of the free trade agreement between the two countries.

“Korea is only the second country with which we will be concluding a free trade agreement after Japan. Aside from that, we have a very robust defense and security cooperation as you well know,” Imperial said.

Imperial said the President will have “more than two” bilateral meetings.