A Conversation with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines

[Applause] foreign please have a seat thank you so glad to see you all here it's uh it's just wonderful to have this room full it should be because this is a rare opportunity for all of us uh thank you all for coming my name is John Hamry I'm the president of the csis but it's a real privilege to have you here but really to welcome president Marcos um it's just a he's had a remarkable visit I I've been watching the news and it's just been a really a standout visit and I think we're all very glad for that you know such a unique relationship between our two countries it's very personal it's bottom up um about three years ago I spent a fair amount of time in a series of hospitals and uh at every step of the way there was a Filipino that was helping me the emergency room the ICU the hematologists the nurses the doctors and it wasn't just that they were Healthcare professionals it's that they brought a buoyancy of spirit that's so typical of the Philippines you know it just it made me want to get well because I wanted to live up to the generosity that they were expressing for me it was just it was marvelous and a great great thing you know we've had choppy relations between our two countries through the years my friend Henry Howard is here Henry was instrumental in returning the balinga Bell you say to most Americans they don't know what you're talking about right no American knows what that means every Filipino knows what that is we took a bell from a Catholic Church as a war trophy you know and it took a hundred years I think to get it back you know Henry thank you for doing that but it's emblematic of the unevenness we've had between our two countries we're right now entering a remarkably positive period of time because of President Marcus he is bringing new dynamism to this relationship and we see each other now in ways where we need each other at a modern time and it's a wonderful thing so it's a privilege for all of us this is his last big event before he leaves tonight so he's giving us the privilege of talking with him and then also getting his insights from his really very successful visit in Washington so with your very warm Applause would you please welcome to the stage president I get a special Filipino footstool so thank you for so such a thoughtfulness thank you very much for the uh kind introduction from Mr John Hamrick the president and CEO of csis and the other csis officials uh the uh we have with us uh we're the speaker of Our House of Representatives speaker Martin ramaldez [Applause] also with us is our foreign secretary secretary Ricky Manalo [Applause] the our ambassador who cannot wait to see our plane leave as he has been working on this trip for a year and and I I think that we we owe him a pat on the back for the very good work the groundwork that he put [Applause] that he has put in for us to have for us to be able to say that at the very least this visit has been a most constructive and uh meaningful one it I was just speaking uh inside before we came out and we were talking about the trip and I said generally speak that there is a tendency sometimes when to do we have these official visits or state visits where you make these declarations and pronouncements which are very general and what we refer to as motherhood statements we have this in this trip that has not been the case at all we have gone into a remarkable amount of detail in terms of the establishment and the strengthening and deepening of relations between the US and the Philippines I am lucky however that the uh these arrangements and these agreements have come about because we have such a very strong Foundation of our relationship and now here we are the csis one of the world's foremost policy institutions on National Security and foreign policy issues and have been a great partner in highlighting the Philippines to its American and of course International audience just two weeks ago our Foreign Affairs secretary stood before you to provide his perspectives our perspectives and the Philippines is deep bilateral ties with the United States as well as our country's place in the indo-pacific and in the world today I would like to delve into what I think are two countries and peoples have been and will continue to be naturally drawn to each other I dare say that in a similar vein the future of the United States will hold more promise if the U.S Works closely hand in hand shoulder to shoulder in lockstep with the Philippines the answer is simple and more fundamental even then our almost 72 years of treaty Alliance what truly binds our two countries and peoples is our shared value and our commitment to Mutual prosperity in May last year a record 56 million Filipinos exercised the right to vote true to our Roots as the first Asian Republic we showed the world once again that the Philippines remains Sebastian of freedom in the Asia Pacific when I came into office in July last year I promised to uphold these same values to ensure that democracy delivers EV to every four every Filipino especially while we still reel from the lingering effects of the pandemic and the Ripple effects of even the crisis in Ukraine and to the Philippines and to the global economy my father once said of what good is democracy if it is not for the poor he was absolutely right I'm quite certain that you will all agree that this is the very same principle behind the Biden Harris administration's National and foreign policies our two countries are drawn to each other because we recognize that in order to achieve our common goal of peace and prosperity for our peoples we need to work with like-minded Partners it is therefore not surprising that over the past 20 months in particular our two countries have seen a steady exchange of official engagements at all levels of government this includes my first meeting with President Biden on the sidelines of the U.N general assembly in New York and this visit the first by a sitting Philippine president to the United States in over 10 years I do not know quite how that developed that way as uh that has not been the case in the past but we are back on our normal Road of partnership being working together hand in hand together with our most senior cabinet officials President Biden and I had Frank an open discussions on where we are in our bilateral relationship and where we want our alliance and our partnership to bring us particularly in terms of addressing the most pressing challenges confronting our two countries today we noted that the food water and energy crisis climate change terrorism transnational organized crime and they have all become enormous and complex challenges not only for the smaller countries such as the Philippines but even for the large countries and great powers like the United States we are grappling with both new and traditional threats to our people's security nowhere more acutely felt than in in the indo-pacific region and the Philippines sits squarely at the heart of the indo-pacific region it is for this reason that I called for evolving our alliance to make it more responsive to present and emerging challenges it is because National Security is no longer simply about territorial defense Economic Security is National Security after some fits and starts in the nearly 125 years since its independence the Philippines is poised to achieve upper middle income status in one or two years time we are projected to become the 16th largest economy in the world by 2014. for more than 100 million Filipinos ensuring their economic well-being and uplifting their quality of life has always been the priority of this Administration we continue to work on finding synergies and aligning our efforts to sustain our economic momentum and secure inclusive development by expanding cooperation in key areas such as agriculture energy infrastructure and to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change to navigate and manage Regional and Global Security challenges the Philippines was amongst the first to welcome and embrace the U.S led indo-pacific economic framework because of the out at the outset we found that our values aligned with the principles underpinning the United States vision for the ipf that of transparency of fairness competitiveness of inclusiveness sustainability and resilience one could argue that the Philippines and the United States are natural strategic trade and Investment Partners the challenge now is to make sure that the ipf brings about concrete deliverables including enclosing the infrastructure Gap amongst Partners encouraging the connectivity between partners and when I say when I use the word connectivity which goes beyond digital connectivity which is uh has become the most common use of that word but to include Transportation include trade include travel by land by sea by air and in that way we strengthen Supply chains we build resilience and we open up access and opportunities not only to the digital economy but to the other emerging sectors that as yet we have not necessarily totally identified but will come down and will be something that we will have to face in the very near future we see a couple of issues that are vital importance to our economic Partnerships first the reauthorizing of the general system of preferences or the GSP program is a key first step both our countries have greatly benefited from the GSP the program covers over 2000 products and certainly we can be expanded to cover other products of Interest I do not say this lightly but the Philippines has much to offer when it comes to economic opportunities that both countries can take advantage of we grew at 7.6 percent and last year which made the Philippines one of the fastest growing economies in the indo-pacific in 2022 while facing global economic headwinds we are still projected to grow by around six percent this year and that is the forecast that we are hoping actually to improve on and another 6.2 percent next year we have a young Dynamic and skilled labor force we have instituted several major economic reforms intended to make it easier to do business in the Philippines and I am proud to say that our macroeconomic fundamentals remain strong as the United States actively looks for alternative locations for businesses in the region we urge both the US and the private sector to consider doing business with us in the areas of course of clean energy decarbonization agriculture food security critical green minerals digital infrastructure and Telecommunications and as has been spoken about and in healthcare we believe that not only do these areas have a high potential for growth but will also provide the most benefits to our peoples to advance our common climate agenda energy and green Metals cooperation will be an important piece of our engagement and must be prioritized the Philippines is interested in becoming a strategic partner of the US in terms of metal processing for American Battery application and development The increased deployment of clean Technologies comes with an increase in demand for inputs of crucial energy resource minerals including Cobalt nickel which just happened to be very abundant in the Philippines we are eager to work with the U.S government to carve out a clear pathway for maximizing incentives under the inflation reduction Act to help our resources of to help our sources of raw and processed materials for battery production to complement your National blueprint for lithium batteries we have recently Advanced discussions on a possible one two three agreement we see nuclear energy as an important part of the country's Future Energy Mix both for ensuring Supply and bringing electrical costs down this will allow us to progress discussions with the U.S companies offering nuclear technologies for government and for commercial use while we continue cooperation on other capacity building initiatives under other strategies severe under strategic civilian nuclear Corporation mou or memorandum of understanding as I brought up with President Biden I see as critical the undertaking of technical cooperation and possible U.S investment in the adoption of geographic information systems remote sensing artificial intelligence in the baselining and change detection of terrestrial Coastal and marine ecosystems this will Aid us as we establish our own geospatial database and equip us to move towards strengthening science-based policy making in our country we certainly would welcome with discussions on joint action research with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or Noah and the National Aeronautics in Space Administration the NOAA has been providing critical support to the prevention and Mitigation Of The harmful impacts from the recent oil spill that we suffered in Oriental mindoro Furthermore with NASA we hope to formalize our participation in their Asia air quality program recognizing that the weather sector has an opportunity has the opportunity to lead the change and to deliver transformative Solutions in our quest for climate resilient and sustainable development we likewise encourage the exchange of knowledge on integrated Water Resource Management and opportunities for joint transdisciplinary action research with particular focus on the Nexus between climate change biodiversity conservation and food energy and water security building on our science technology and Innovation engagements we hope to work with the United States in establishing the virology and vaccine Institute of the Philippines we can jointly work on the training of technicians and Specialists including postgraduate education scholarships providing necessary equipment and implements for the center and establishing what is envisioned to be the first biosafety level for laboratory in the country we look forward to welcoming pharmaceutical companies open to taking advantage of incentives in using the Philippines as a base for their vaccine manufacturing and distribution operations we also look forward to our continued partnership in fighting non-communicable diseases such as tuberculosis diabetes obesity we will require massive investments in the human physical and technological resources of the Philippine genome Center including access to artificial intelligence tools training of technicians and of scientists equipment and relevant research there are existing Cooperative projects that can be built upon or expanded we also hope to partner with the U.S Geological Service in training research and projects to support our efforts in making a holistic intervention for protecting our coastal areas by targeting environmental degradation in the Uplands that impact Upon Our Coastal ecosystems such as through sedimentation by restoring the shoreline and protecting marine ecosystems the United States consistently ranks amongst our top three trading partners and top 10 sources of foreign direct investment we are proud that many U.S companies including those in the Fortune 500 have found a home in the Philippines and hope that more companies would look to us as they diversify and reconfigure their supply chains my friends ladies and gentlemen I make this case for forging closer economic ties because creating prosperity and realizing human potential will not only make the Philippines a more reliable Alliance partner for the United States it will also strengthen our democracies a bilateral partnership that works for our peoples will in turn attract the support that it needs to thrive creating a mutually reinforcing circle of trust one that will truly bring our alliance our partnership and our friendship into the 21st century thank you all very much for your attention and good afternoon [Applause] thank you [Applause] well uh let me be the first to thank you president Marcus for some phenomenal remark and congratulate you on a phenomenal week of visits I want to reiterate what Dr Henry said earlier about just how impressive the last few days of Engagement has been I'm Gregory Poland I direct the southeast Asia program here at csis I also run what we call the Asia Maritime transparency initiative focused on the South China Sea so uh my interest in the Philippines has been long standing on on both fronts and this is a real honor for us especially after having so recently hosted Secretary of Foreign Affairs Manalo let me start with the alliance so just yesterday you visited the Pentagon you had you were the first foreign leader to get full honors under the bite administration's Pentagon uh and which I'm sure was no mistake and then uh we saw the release of the new defense guidelines the first ever bilateral defense guidelines despite the fact that the Philippines is the oldest U.S treaty Ally in the region it seems a pretty ambitious plan when you look out five or ten years what does this more equal more modern Alliance look like to you well I I it is one that is responsive to the challenges that we face and that approaches and finds ways to solve those problems those challenges on a multi-dimensional basis the relationship between the Philippines and the United States although security and defense right now are top of mind and security and defense or what we feel are the Urgent issues that we must attend to when I asked about what is the most important part of the relationship between us and the Philippines is it the mutual defense treaty is it the econ is it the people-to-people relationship and uh I cannot answer such a question because there are mult there are so many facets to our relationship and what I see in the future is just developing all of those seeing as as I mentioned that we talk about security and defense security and defense can no longer be isolated as one issue we there are attendant and ancillary issues that that hope that help to to help that help the solve the problem and that are part of the solution and so again we must really be looking towards the for example in the economic side we must be looking to adjust our relationship as we all are trying to adjust and to transform our our economies we must look to the new economy that is emerging from the post-pandemic world and with the impacting forces of the war in the Ukraine and those are some things these are some these are elements these are these are issues that we never really had to deal before uh so now that is why the the relationship must recognize uh that such is the situation and uh that is what we had hoped to achieve and I think we have taken the very uh very good first steps and in the right direction for our relationship to be able to respond uh relevant in a relevant fashion and uh in uh with an agility that uh are that is uh that that can accommodate the very fast moving geopolitical forces the very fast-moving Geo political issues that arise uh now whereas it used to come every year or so now they're every week or so and sometimes uh even quicker than that so that is the direction that I see the RP U.S relationships heading and this is what we are going to try to develop and I think that we are in uh very good agreement with your president and your government as to the directions that we need to take and I the this visit has been most constructive uh in bringing us to that point where we can say we are ready that we are capable of looking to the world and seeing what the world has become or what the world has evolved and evolving uh as well together so as to be able to play the part that we choose to play in the community of Nations most of the announcements that came out of your trip here this week including the joint statement with President Biden focused not on security but as you indicated on food security and climate change and energy and trade are you happy with what the US has put on the table to date on the economic front to make this really a comprehensive not just a security focused relationship well I think that yes I am now it's simply because I think it is well recognized by both our governments uh and espec not only in the the directions that we're taking but the policies that we Undertake and for the part of the Philippines even the chair the new legislation that we have uh uh that we have been acted uh that yes we are attending to what can be considered to be uh the most critical areas uh they may have because of the because of the situation in the in the geopolitical world right now they may have begun or started with a focus on security and defense but that was only a starting point and from that starting point uh the wide-ranging discussions that we have had and the wide-ranging discussions that we have had have become uh have have come up with some concrete uh proposals that now our governments will go away and study and try to find a consensus between our two governments on how to move forward so I think the the this the the visit this visit uh of myself of the members of the cabinet and some of the rest of the official delegation we also had brought with us uh many uh members of the private sector uh that that this visit has become a very uh uh has certainly set the direction very clearly and it is important in this volatile situation this volatile setting that Clarity must be must be there so as we are very clear in what we intend to do what roles we play and what positions we take on certain issues and that I think we have largely achieved on this trip thank you um you mentioned labor rights and human rights and a week and a half ago in response to the tragic murder of Alex Dolorosa your Department of Justice issued a very strong statement condemning the culture of impunity in the Philippines are you that it will not be allowed to stand could you elaborate a bit on what your administration's plans are to tackle that culture and the human rights abuse is that it's allowed well I think those derive what the most of the uh most of the discussion that that are critical of uh the human rights situation of the Philippines derived from uh the policy uh that we undertook um uh to fight the drug war and perhaps we and in my view what had happened in the previous administration is that we focus very much on enforcement and because of that it could be said that there were abuses by uh certain elements in the government and that has caused some concern with many in many quarters about the human rights situation in the Philippines well I cannot speak to what my predecessor had in mind and what his idea was but what I can speak to is the policy that we have undertaken and that I I said the drug war continues to be at the source of many much criminality in the Philippines the syndicates have grown stronger and wealthier and are more influential worryingly so uh but instead of going after everyone uh we have I tried to identify the key areas where we have uh uh that that we have to tackle the key areas that we have to attend to so that we can see a diminution of uh the activity of the drug syndicates to this end we have just finished I I we instituted a a process by which we asked uh we always we have identity we really it is very clear I think anyone who looks at the drug problem in the Philippines even very quickly uh we'll immediately see that the problem lies in enforcement and some of our law enforcement officers have been sucked in to this terrible uh this terrible uh this terrible systems that have enriched themselves at the cost of the lives of many especially our young people and the policemen that is why we instituted we I organized the commission and I asked for the resignation of all the policemen police officers from Colonel level up and we have received about what is it 917 resignations and we are now in the process of looking through uh the records of these officers to see those that have had derogatory comments those that have evidence against them as of today two of those very high ranking I think General rank have already been removed from have been separated from the service and there are still over 30 cases that are being administratively uh investigated and uh that will that will continue and if anything is found that that this uh that implicates any of them uh to have been in to be to be involved in any of these activities then we will start to uh we will start to develop the the cases against them and uh in that way dismantle this terrible system that has grown up and this has become such a cancer in our society that we that has that has gone all the way to the highest levels of government so the change in policy I believe uh is much more focused uh I always say that the previous administration uh focused on enforcement we have taken enforcement as far as as we can now it is time to look at actually going after dismantling these syndicates and before that we should also look at not the rehabilitation of those who have already fallen into uh into this uh drug culture which has destroyed their lives further back to that that that process is also the as a process of re-education of explaining especially to our young people uh what the damage that is what the potential damage is to their lives should they be involved in this way not only as users not only as addicts but also us dealers and uh operators of these syndicates and so it is a we we look we are looking at the problem uh as a whole we start with the with the errant policemen we go back to the rehabilitation process for those who have unfortunately Fallen uh into uh the this addiction cycle and for the young people in the country who have yet to uh who I I hope and we hope will never and enter into that kind of Lifestyle to continue to educate and to give options to respect to our young people so that they are not necessary they do not uh they are not tempted to indulge in these activities thank you now before we turn to the online and in-person audience I have one more question we have to address the elephant in the room uh China continues to harass Filipino Mariners on a dangerous basis just last week we had a mere collision with the Philippine Coast Guard vessel Diamond control and China has been highly critical of your moves to deepen the alliance with the US how can you maintain a stable relationship with Beijing while still defending Philippine sovereignty well in the same way that we maintain a relationship with the us we constantly consult with our allies and our partners we can constantly keep our Reliance of communications open when I went to see uh president XI in Beijing last January I proposed so as to avoid these incidents these unfortunate incidents that we see every so often such as the blocking of our fishermen from their fishing grounds such as the uh uh well intimidation really of many of our many of our Maritime forces uh I suggested that we to avoid these instances well I suggested that we uh Institute a system wherein we have a direct contact one president to the other and in that way no matter if I cannot speak for example to president XI himself I have someone that I can I can pick up the phone and call call who will make who I know and I have confidence in making my message arrive to the president and this works of course both ways that we have the president of the People's Republic would like a message to arrive to me then that we have a system in place we are we have a system in place to achieve that and we are still working on it um our secretary of Foreign Affairs is working on the the details of that of that ex that well I I refer to it as a hotline really and uh hopefully that soon we will have that in place we will have that functioning uh and in that way I I disengagement is really not an option uh we tried about we tried to balance we in my first state of the nation address I said that the philippines's foreign policy will keep the Philippines a friend of friends of all and enemy to none uh our foreign policies is is almost simplistic uh when I describe it because our foreign policy is based on the pursuit of Peace our foreign policies based on the promotion of our national interests now the promotion of our national interests include the defense of our territorial integrity and of our sovereignty and that is what uh that we are working on now and I think that as long as we continue that process as long as we continue to engage as long as we continue uh to assure all our partners not only China but all our partners the asean member states all the countries in Asia all those who have we now include in the indo-pacific region that they we have an open and clear and available uh system to be able to communicate with one another to be have have a very open uh and the candid exchange of views and uh to explain what it is that we are concerned with and to listen to the concerns of other countries that seems to be the the only way because we certainly do not want to provoke a more serious situation than it is already now we certainly do not want to cause an incident by misjudgment by mistake that will Elevate the a conflict from what it is now to a higher level and that is if that is not the one it is not the the work of a day or a week or a month it is something that is ongoing and that really should never end and that's in my view is the only way to keep the levels of Confrontation the levels of misunderstanding to a manageable level thank you all right let's open it up to the audience we have a microphone for those in the room who would like to ask over on my left here if you stand up and while you make your way there let's go to one of those that came in from our online audience uh so first we have Leslie Wilhelm she's a U.S Navy civilian she asked what is the biggest immediate need for the Philippines to and to address the impending loss of the malampaya field in 2027. it's a energy security question again this is a this is a this is actually a terribly good question um because the only way to resolve the issues that are outstanding is to once again keep talking and to come to a consensus to come to an agreement and to continue to negotiate it is not an easy process but the malum biofuels are the natural gas fields that lie in in our within our baselines and within our exclusive economic zone and that again is being a question uh in certain cases uh in certain areas by China and we continue to negotiate with them we continue to find a way they essential the essential problem the essential roadblock to that whole process has been very simple China claims certain areas of the sea the nine dash line and covers just about the entire West Philippine Sea we on the other hand have established our baselines which have been um recognized and accredited by unclos and therefore there is that conflict and so what happens now especially when it comes to exploration in uh for for energy uh uh for our energy needs are which law will apply because we say this is part of Philippine Philippine territory and therefore Philippine laws should apply Chinese say no it is part of our territory therefore Chinese local laws should apply we are slowly inching towards a resolution of that and it may have to come down to a uh a compromise that will just limit that that uh that application the application of laws maybe to the vessels that are that are involved in this exploration and exploitation of whatever whatever natural a natural gas fields we can we can access so that's one of the suggestions but as I say um it's not a like there there is no Silver Bullet where you say we'll do this and it's done as I said we are inching slowly towards a resolution uh and that's why we must be constant we must be transparent and we must be accountable for all that we do and uh it I cannot see any other way to handle the problem uh other than that thank you Murray my name is Marie Hebert I'm affiliated with csis and with bar group Asia I won't ask China so China seek question although I had a lot of those because you've done such a good job of answering them but I'll ask an economic question your predecessor had roughly cut off a lot of the mining opportunities in the Philippines but you talked in your opening remarks about the you know the minerals that you have and that could be developed probably for electric vehicles and other purposes clean energy purposes can you talk a little bit about what you're planning to do in that sector and how you're attracting for an investment in the clean energy with regard to what what as you describe it as a uh the cutting off of mining opportunities in the Philippines that was a very um uh that was much very much in the initial part of the previous administration since then the position of the Philippines has changed uh what we are working for now is not right now we are exporting nickel but we are exporting just an example Nicole we are exporting nickel as raw ore and that is the uh the probably the worst way to do business in terms of value added in our country and so what we're working towards now is the processing and leaving the value added in the Philippines and like again to go back to my previous example for nickel we can process that into a finished product that we can now use that's why Battery Technology and Battery manufacturers become so attractive for us and that's why I mentioned it more than once in my remarks simply because we have available to us all the minerals that are necessary for the production of of batteries so that is that's that that for me may be the ultimate end of what we are trying to do but to do that we have to be able to extract our copper to extract our Cobalt to extract our nickel and process it into a form that is useful as the raw material for further processing into batteries so we are not we are not yet at that point we if we were to if we were to initiate the businesses that we that we are we have been looking at in terms of battery production and all the other all the other uh technologies that will help our renewable mix renewable and and fossil fuel mix if we are uh we if we are going to be able to participate in that uh in that market we have to be able to process our raw material into a into a form that is applicable as a raw material for the succeeding processes that will bring us to the point where we are actually manufacturing batteries I think it's well recognized around the world that this is where we are headed this is where the needs of our countries the needs of our energy suppliers are headed and that's what we are trying to do in the Philippines let's go back to the the online audience uh John Bechtel with baynar news and radio free Asia asked the question that we got a lot of different versions the same question has the U.S asked your government to contribute Philippine military troops to combat operations should a War break out between the US and China over Taiwan it's very short or a very long answer well the short answer is no uh and that and the reason is that we we have made it very clear uh that the uh the basis that we have opened up uh to be used by American forces in the Philippines we had just identified four additional bases which we announced uh last month and uh these are the these the original concept behind uh this cooperation agreement that we have with the U.S that uh from which this uh this uh these new bases were were derived from uh it was really because of of uh uh the effects of climate change and the increasing instances of disasters in the Philippines I think uh for example you everyone can remember the super typhoon you call it hayan we call it Yolanda and that was nine years ago uh 10 years ago now and that was for example that that everyone said that is a hundred year typhoon and meaning it uh this is this is this strong typhoon only occurs every 100 years or so well eight years later we had typhoon Odette that was that was not quite as strong but laid waste to as much of our resources as Yolanda did we call it Yolanda of hayan that Hyundai and so you can see that this the the climate change for number one yeah I I I've now I'm at the very least after all of these things that have happened the naysayers that say that climate change is not real Etc global warming doesn't it's not a big deal etc etc at least we have heard less and less of that but that recognition that this is the situation that we are facing the Philippines in terms of climate change has been determined and assessed to be one of the most if not the most vulnerable countries when it comes to the effects of climate change and that was and that's what Edco was for because we always run to our partners to the United States to our Asian partners for help when these things happen as indeed we do help when our Asian Partners our partners everywhere around the world have a have a problem such as this and that is the exchange and the Edgar sites Were Meant To Be were conceptualized really to be these the places that we could use so as to be able to provide a quicker relief quicker rescue do a better job in other words of rehabilitating and reconstructing the damage that has that will be caused by these disasters and that is uh that's the basic that's that's really the basic premise of the Edgar sites now with the increasing tensions in especially in the Taiwan Straits then the military aspect and this and the uh security and defense aspect to go back to the terminology we've been using uh the secretary in the defense aspect became part of that mission and that's why it became sensitive and that is why China has been terribly critical but I I do everything I can the the foreign minister of China just visited with me a couple of weeks ago three weeks ago and I I told him and I assured him that no well these are not these are not intended to be military bases to attack to uh move against anyone any country not China not any country we have again let me return back to the simple concept of our foreign policy and it is the work continuing work that we would like to be involved in in the pursuit of peace and that continues to be the case so I am you know if if should there be such an attempt uh to use such the the ethical sites for offensive action then that would be outside the parameters of what we had discussed and the what the Edgar sites are in fact for so in it and uh and to but to be fair the United States has never brought up the possibility that we will use that the United States will use to the Edgar sites as staging uh staging areas for any offensive action against any country and I think we are in lockstep with the US with that and that they understand the concerns uh that the Philippines has and are sensitive uh to the reasons why we have those concerns so uh again to go back to the quick answer no the United States has never has never said that this is a possibility and we have also made it clear from our end that we will this is not what this is not the purpose of those sites and this is not the way with the they will be used thank you sir I know it's been a very long week and this is your last public event so we are going to end it on time that's going to be the last question uh please everybody join me in thanking the president of the Republic of the Philippines [Applause] this is like what in the concert when they come out for the Encore we have one more it's like an encore question welcome to Washington President Marcos my name is Nike chin from Voice of America good afternoon you mentioned war on Ukraine if you don't mind me asking what is your takeaway in your meetings with U.S officials and Congress and how do you assess the possibility of U.S and China work together to mediate an end to the Ukraine war and if you don't mind me being very direct what countries in with Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines work on it or being skeptical about it thank you well the the the the Philippines has been very clear in our support for the resolutions in the United Nations that were passed the upon the onset of the war in Ukraine uh in that we respect the sovereignty uh and territoriality of every single nation in the world and that applies most certainly because they are in the in this uh incredibly uh critical situation uh where there is an outright war going on so this is the the those these are these are some of the shared values that I spoke about uh when it comes to the U.S for one but also of the many countries around member States of asean uh the countries around Asia I think we are in full agreement that we must continue to protect the uh The Sovereign the sovereignty not just Sovereign rights but the sovereignty of each Nation no matter where they are and that the the situation in Ukraine cannot continue and it is uh something that is really anachronistic in the modern world and but nonetheless we all think that way and they say you know when when the when the first report started coming in about the massing of forces by Russia on the Crimean border the border with the with the Ukraine we all sort of shrugged and said that this is not going to happen it's 2022 you know this is not this is not the sort of thing that goes on anymore boy were we wrong uh we know now exactly what the what has occurred and so we must continue to to to to to uh present the united front uh because this doesn't the war in Ukraine has affected everyone uh strangely enough because it's not something that we expected we never expected that the war in Ukraine would make any difference to the lives of ordinary Filipinos well it has in a very serious and profound way and that's why it is very it is essential that we are all and and I speak in terms of uh asean I speak in terms of Asia that we are all uh uh shoulder to shoulder and continuing to uh to promote the rights of every Sovereign Nation to protect its borders and I think that that is the uh that is the the principle that we must hold close and fight very hard to defend that is the position that the Philippines has I believe it is the position that asean has and I believe it is a position that most Asian countries have in fact all Asian countries thank you and with that please join me around the course thank you [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Center for Strategic & International Studies

Views: 281,688

Keywords: Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS, bipartisan, policy, foreign relations, national security, think tank, politics, global food security, food loss, food waste, sustainability, food tech, biotech, #AMTI, #Event, #2AB

Id: UMvxCfxL9_Q

Length: 56min 37sec (3397 seconds)

Published: Thu May 04 2023