President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said Asia should be the one deciding for its future as he stressed the need to engage both sides in any conflict that arises within the region.

Marcos made the statement in a media interview after concluding his participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit on Nov. 19.

His statement stemmed from the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s remark after the bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that said the Philippines and China should “work together to reject unilateralism and acts of bullying, defend fairness and justice, and safeguard peace and stability in the region.”

The President did not dwell on China’s call to “reject acts of bullying” as he interpreted it as upholding the region’s independence.

“I suppose maybe the term bullying is not exactly accurate but I would characterize it as something different. I would say that as part of our foreign policy and this is something again that I spoke to our other partners with, what we really should pursue is that we should make sure that we in the region are the ones who will decide the future of the region,” Marcos said.

“Huwag nating pabayaan na dinidiktahan tayo ng kahit sino (Let us not allow that others to dictate us). Maybe that’s what the Chinese were referring to,” he added.

The chief executive picked up from this saying, upholding independence in the region must begin with “being able to engage with everyone, from other side of any conflict.”

He further said that regional meets like the APEC Summit give countries the opportunities to “come to a common position.”

“That’s why these meetings, these summits are so important because we can come to a common position. And it is how it should be. It is us in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), it is us in Asia who should decide,” the President said.

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Betheena Unite

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