2 hours ago
3
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
CEBU, Philippines – Collective action among member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations “has never been more urgent” in light of the massive economic disruptions caused by the Middle East war, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told his fellow ASEAN leaders on Friday, May 8.
In his opening statement during the 48th ASEAN Summit plenary session in Cebu, Marcos zeroed in on three priorities: ensuring regional energy security and resilience, stabilizing food security, and upholding the safety of ASEAN nationals.
Read Marcos’ opening statement in full below.
Your Majesty,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Colleagues,
My ASEAN brothers and sisters,
Good morning.
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 48th ASEAN Summit Plenary.
I also take the opportunity to congratulate His Excellency Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng on his election as Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and warmly welcome him to the ASEAN Summit.
I also wish to extend my warmest congratulations to His Excellency Sonexay Siphandone on his re-election as Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
And in the same spirit, let me likewise extend my warmest congratulations to His Excellency Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul on his re-election as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand.
We meet at a defining moment for our region and the global community.
The international geopolitical landscape continues to be marked by uncertainty and heightened geopolitical tensions, particularly, by the grave situation in the Middle East.
ASEAN has expressed serious concern over the escalation of conflict due to the preemptive attacks initiated by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic of Iran on February 28, 2026, and the subsequent retaliatory attacks by Iran against several countries in the region.
These developments have disrupted maritime and air transport routes, heightened risks to merchant and non-combatant vessels and aircraft, and affected the flow of energy and essential goods.
Against this backdrop, we come together guided by ASEAN’s long-standing commitment to peace, and the collective positions expressed by each ASEAN Member State:
– the immediate cessation of hostilities;
– the peaceful settlement of disputes;
– the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure; and
– the restoration of safe, unimpeded, and continuous transit passage in the Strait of Hormuz.
For ASEAN, these challenges are deeply felt by our people — through higher living costs, supply disruptions, threatened livelihoods, economic strain, [and] growing vulnerability, both in our homelands and amongst our nationals in the Middle East.
It is a stark reminder that, in an increasingly uncertain world, we call for our collective action and it has never been more urgent so we must continue to uphold the principles of ASEAN centrality and solidarity and pursue practical cooperation.
For this, I thank you for answering the call, underscoring the importance and urgency of convening at this time.
It is in this spirit that we gather today to pursue concrete outcomes and forge a collective path with particular focus on three urgent and interrelated priorities.
First, we must ensure regional energy security and resilience.
At a time of heightened volatility, ASEAN must strengthen coordination and reinforce preparedness, [and] pursue practical collective measures to safeguard a stable energy supply and improve interconnectivity, all the while advancing alternative and renewable energy sources to protect our economies from further shocks and to respond to the urgent challenge of climate change.
In this effort, we must also harness innovation, including inclusive and responsible applications of artificial intelligence, to improve energy forecasting, strengthen grid management and system flexibility, and support the clean energy transition.
Second, we must work together to stabilize food security.
Disruptions in trade and transport stemming from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz quickly affected food prices and supply, especially fertilizers, and subsequently, the welfare of our peoples.
Our task is to ensure that ASEAN remains responsive, to strengthen and expand intra-ASEAN trade, and build the capacities to safeguard and fortify our food systems across the region.
Digital innovation can help us anticipate shortages, improve agricultural productivity, and support responsive decision-making so that our peoples in vulnerable situations are better protected.
Third, we must uphold the safety of ASEAN nationals.
In moments of crisis, ASEAN solidarity must be measured by our ability to act in concert to safeguard our peoples, wherever they may be.
This means strengthening early warning systems, enhancing consular coordination, and ensuring the timely delivery of assistance through the prudent use of new technologies, including exploring how AI-enabled tools may advance our priorities, anchored in human judgment and international law.
Today, we gather to confront, with unity and resolve, the repercussions of the situation in the Middle East, and seek to advance our common commitment to peace, stability, and prosperity while ensuring that the benefits of our cooperation are felt by all our peoples.
In this regard, the Philippines, as Chair, reaffirms its strong commitment to steering ASEAN through changing and uncertain times under our Chairship theme, “Navigating Our Future, Together.”
As we push forward the first year of the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, we are reminded that our region is strongest when we turn shared challenges, however daunting they may be, into shared purpose.
And to this end, we recognize the importance of maritime cooperation and look forward to the adoption of the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Maritime Cooperation, which includes the Philippines’ proposal to establish an ASEAN Maritime Centre, which will serve as an important platform for maritime cooperation in coordination with relevant ASEAN and ASEAN-led mechanisms.
“Navigating Our Future, Together” is not only our Chairship theme, but also the task that lies ahead of us.
With this, I have the honor to declare the 48th ASEAN Summit Plenary now open.
– Rappler.com
