Philippines President seeks stronger ties with India, peace in region

President Marcos Jr. became the first Philippine leader to deliver the keynote address at the President opening of the 21st International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Manila on Friday.

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In his speech, he affirmed that ASEAN Centrality will continue to be a "core element" of the Philippines' foreign policy.

Marcos Jr also described India as a friend and said that Manila would continue to pursue collaboration with New Delhi.

He said, "We shall strengthen our alliance with the United States and our Strategic Partnerships with Australia, Japan, Vietnam, Brunei, and all the other member states of ASEAN."

He also declared continued strategic partnerships with other nations and wished to make more future collaborations and cooperations, not only in defence but also in environmental, economic, peopleto-people relations, and sustainable development.

"In all our multilateral engagements, we seek to bridge global conversations with our unique regional perspectives," the President said. "We will also pursue more robust collaboration with friends such as the Republic of Korea [and] India, amongst others," he added.