Marcos commends Canada, Japan for efforts to promote peace, stability over Indo-Pacific region

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. commended the role of Canada in maintaining peace and stability over the Indo-pacific region.

In his intervention during the Association of the Southeast Asian Nation (Asean)-Canada Summit in Jakarta on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, Marcos recognized Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, which aims to promote maritime security and safety in the region.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was present during the meeting.

“We certainly welcome the initiatives under Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, such as training on smart border patrols, addressing crime and terrorism, and military-to-military capacity building, to name but a few,” said Marcos.

“We recognize Canada’s role in promoting maritime security and safety in the region. We welcome Canada’s continued engagement through capacity-building programs, specialized and skill-based training to counter traditional and emerging threats,” he added.

Marcos said the regional grouping also welcomes the adoption of the Joint Leaders’ Statement on Asean-Canada Strategic Partnership, which seeks to promote peace, resilience, and security; expand trade, investment, and supply chain resilience; invest in and connect people; build a sustainable and green future in the Indo-Pacific region with Asean at its core.

He said the launch of the strategy is timely as Canada deepens its relations with the Asean countries.

“To further expand mutual trade, we should continue efforts at enhancing Asean connectivity and supply chains,” the President said.

Marcos also noted Canada’s continued support for education in Asean and its Feminist International Assistance Policy, including its support for the Asean Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR) through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.

In a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the Summit, Trudeau invited Marcos to visit Canada next year for the celebration of the 75 years of diplomatic relations of the two countries.

In response, Marcos said he was equally happy to meet the Canadian leader again to discuss all of the issues that are really in the process of evolution including the Philippine diaspora.

“Again, we cannot have discussions without mentioning the diaspora, the Philippine diaspora, to Canada. And I noted during our Independence Day, all these celebrations being held officially by local governments around Canada for the Philippines, as a celebration of Philippine culture, a celebration of Philippine independence, was really indicative of how well they have assimilated themselves into places and into your society,” he said.

“And for that, that is something that we need to continue and to develop. It is perhaps the way of the world,” he added.

Marcos said Canada has become the much-desired destination for many Filipino workers, and many families that have grown up in Canada are always unanimous in their enthusiasm for the way that the Canadian society has been open, warm, and hospitable to them.

He also said that Canada’s shift toward the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific is significant particularly with the growing and evolving economies, noting that the partnership has become more important.

Marcos expressed optimism that the Philippines and Canada will further deepen its ties in the years to come.

Meanwhile, in his intervention during the 26th Asean-Japan Summit, Marcos hailed Japan for also backing efforts to maintain peace in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as opposing the militarization of reclaimed features in the South China Sea.

Marcos commended the joint statement dubbed as The Spirit of Camp David, which consolidated a common security agenda among Japan, the United States and South Korea and which includes one of the most problematic issues in the region that undermine regional peace and prosperity.

In the joint statement, the three countries expressed support to free and open international order based on the rule of law, opposing any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific waters, the militarization of reclaimed features in the South China Sea, and the concern for continued illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities that affect fisherfolk.

Marcos said the Philippine and Japan not only share the common interest of maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, but also in enhancing their resiliency against maritime disasters.

He noted the first of its kind trilateral maritime exercises conducted among the Coast Guards of the Philippines, Japan, and the United States and held in June, reinforcing interoperability in responding to maritime disasters and to strengthening Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) cooperation.

Marcos said the joint statement is also a testament to the enduring and deep-rooted relationship between Asean and Japan.

“Asean welcomes Japan’s support for our efforts to mainstream the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, the AOIP, especially in upholding Asean Centrality,” he said, noting Japan’s additional injection of $100 million is a symbol of the continuing support and its importance in mainstreaming AOIP.

“I cannot emphasize enough the expediency of maintaining peace and stability in the region through the adherence to the rule of law, particularly the 1982 Unclos (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea). Our shifting security issues make it quite clear that we must work together for the sake of peace and stability in our region and in the world,” he added. (SunStar Philippines)