MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. issued his sharpest reminder yet that Philippine sovereignty is “non-negotiable,” declaring that no alliance or partnership will ever come at the expense of the country’s sovereign rights.
Speaking at the Manila Strategy Forum on Wednesday, Marcos stressed that while Manila seeks deeper cooperation with allies such as the United States and with regional neighbors, all engagements must remain firmly anchored on respect for the nation’s independence and jurisdiction.
“Like the United States, the Philippines is very much open to cooperating with its neighbors,” Marcos said. “We have many bilateral channels of communication and areas of cooperation. But in all of these, respect for our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction is, and has always been and will always be, non-negotiable.”
The Manila Strategy Forum, organized by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is a high-level dialogue on the future of the Philippine-US alliance. Among those who joined the President were Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez, and US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson.
Marcos acknowledged the US is preoccupied with multiple global flashpoints but said Manila continues to count on Washington’s steady presence in the Indo-Pacific.
“We certainly are closely watching developments in Ukraine, the Middle East, and other flashpoints because we are keenly aware that the outcomes of the situation in these regions will certainly influence the outlook of – their outlook of the global community elsewhere,” he noted.
Despite these pressures, Marcos expressed confidence in America’s strategic focus. “And yet, we remain confident that the United States, as a self-declared Pacific nation, will remain oriented and committed to the Indo-Pacific, as history has consistently proven,” he added./PN
