Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo was the keynote speaker at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies-Yusof Ishak Institute’s Regional Outlook Forum 2025 in Singapore on Thursday, January 9. Below is the full speech as delivered.
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Friends,
First, I wish to thank the Yusok Ishak Institute or ISEAS for the very kind invitation to speak before you this morning. I also wish to acknowledge and thank Director and CEO Mr. Choi Shing Kwok and also for the kind introduction of my friend, Professor Chan Heng Chee.
As stated, I have been asked to speak on the fairly broad and complex theme: “Can the spirit of cooperation shine through amidst turbulent times?”
So my answer can only be very simple: not only is it “Yes” but also “It does” and “It must.”
So to begin, first I would like to examine an assumption that permeates conversations especially in the region nowadays, namely: strategic competition, especially between the United States and China, has sharpened polarities and constraints to an extent that states are less able or unwilling to cooperate substantively. And we might also add to this, the situations in the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.
So while this assumption may be valid to an extent, I believe it is essentially flawed, as it is hinged on the mentality of the Cold War — perhaps our nearest experience of a bipolar rivalry. But as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. pointed out in his keynote speech at Shangri-La last year: this Cold War prism is outdated. The future of the region, if not the world, is not being set by one or two powers, but by many actors.
And I think we deal with this distinctly different global landscape in the 21st century.
More than at any point in history, we see many states actively shaping the regional and global agenda. States, some of them yet to be decolonized in the 1960s, have assumed ownership for the solutions for the problems of our time. With such agency, they are succeeding in bringing forth new conversations: about resilience, sustainability and transformation in the light of their respective realities.
Thus, we see the emergence of new modes of cooperation and expressions of common purpose.
Take for example ASEAN, the Pacific Island Forum, the African Union, and CARICOM.
In the United Nations, small island states and climate-vulnerable states have cut fresh pathways for global solidarity on climate change and action. Last year, the ICJ commenced a process to issue an advisory opinion on the obligations of states in climate change. And Iast September, high-level debates were held in the United Nations on the issue of sea-level rise for the first time: both at the instance of UNGA resolutions initiated by island states.
Moreover, a wave of south-south cooperation has flourished in the past decade, by States of similar development tracks, to address shared policy challenges. India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, among others, have established new development cooperation models outside the funding streams of the West. The United Nations development system has reason to support this trend: not only because it achieves more impact, but because it is rooted in relatable context and experience. Last November, for example, the Philippines launched an initiative for sustainable health resources in the Pacific region. It is cooperation that delivers on public goods at the center of resilient societies: mainly, health systems.
Global and regional cooperation – in new fronts, on new platforms — are actually thriving, notwithstanding major power rivalries, simply because problems confronting many societies and nations are beyond their capacity to address individually and are well outside the big-power rivalries.
Nor is the toolbox for many challenges of our time in the hands of the major powers. The toolbox or toolboxes are being fashioned in the halls of multilateralism built in the 20th century, as well as new corridors of engagement that have sprung out of and alongside multilateral processes.
The United Nations, which marks its 80th anniversary this year, stands as an enduring edifice of common purpose. Despite its deficiencies, there is no alternative for it a platform that is needed to address global challenges. The UN Charter fosters the spirit of cooperation in an international order governed by international law and the principles of equity and of justice.
And even if the UN strains under the weight of geopolitics and differences among the big powers as well as conflicts, the UN is at the heart of global cooperation and shall continue to be so.
It is true many see the UN as an imperfect vessel for the human community as we navigate especially the crises of our time. But without the UN, the catastrophes will be far more devastating, our communities unable to cope adequately in the face of man-made and natural disasters. The UN, through cooperation of its member states, has succeeded in strengthening international law, promoting human rights, dealing with health and natural emergencies, and in undertaking peacekeeping operations throughout the world, just to name some.
And as one of the 51 founding members of the UN, one of the three in Asia, together with China and India — the Philippines has engaged actively to make the UN and its mechanisms robust, inclusive, and effective.
Like the UN, the ASEAN symbolizes the triumph of the will of states for peace and cooperation. Almost six decades since its establishment, ASEAN has become a major regional fulcrum that has weathered tides of crises and change, resolute to pursue a stable, predictable and rules-based environment that has allowed its populations to rise in prosperity.
It remains the most viable regional organization in Asia. Its constructive and inclusive process, complemented by the depth and breadth of its Dialogue Partnerships, continue to promote various types of cooperation and dialogue among its members and with its external partners.
ASEAN’s mechanisms, including the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit, provide the only functional hub of engagement for states in the region, ASEAN and its partners alike.
So if ASEAN is stronger than when it was created in 1967 — and it is undoubtedly stronger — then it is more than ever in a position to drive more dialogue and collaboration in Asia. ASEAN was born during the Cold War era. It nevertheless configured a direction for the future of the region in those years. And it can continue being that beacon for cooperation as we journey into the 21st century.
But of course, this is not a given. ASEAN is a work in progress: it must continue making decisive calls and implementing far-seeing measures in order to sustain its centrality in the region.
Ladies and gentlemen,
What I have been saying is basically my premise: cooperation is still the dominant leitmotif of the regional and global order. It is, and it has to be so. And I have spoken so far about its salient features of our time, when global unrest creates the need for further cooperation. However, cooperation should be underpinned by the following if it is to flourish further:
- First, new challenges pose unprecedented uncertainties, hence the need to be open for innovative modes of working together in search of new solutions for new problems on the basis of international law.
- Second, drivers of global action are no longer just the “major countries.” New actors are at the table, directing the discourse and setting paradigms for cooperation that are closer to their context.
- Third, institutions that have embedded and enriched habits of cooperation amongst nations for decades are assets in times of flux. They are stewards of shared values, and they must evolve if they are to bridge the past with the future, amidst change.
Ladies and gentlemen,
These times of global unrest behoove our region, the Asia Pacific, to fulfill its promise as the engine of global growth for this century. And to this end, we must “build for peace” to sustain our economic growth trajectories and secure the inclusive empowerment of our citizens.
For nearly six decades, ASEAN has been in the business of building peace. I have spoken about its value earlier: and also its visionary and active centrality, which must prevail in the face of major power rivalries and common challenges.
Building for peace in the Asia Pacific requires a robust latticework of multilateral, regional, sub-regional and bilateral dialogues, arrangements, partnerships and initiatives. Even with the enduring relevance of ASEAN, there is no reason why other multilateral or regional dialogues or initiatives complementary to ASEAN, or involving ASEAN, with others should not be explored.
We need to support the drivers of economic growth, invest in human capital, configure more resilient and integrated supply chains, strengthen connectivity and complementation.
And an area of critical importance is the governance of the global commons, the spaces we co-inhabit, in particular our maritime commons – for ours is a maritime region.
Our seas and oceans connect our nations as a lifeline for the well-being of our economies and the future of millions of our coastal communities. Getting governance right in the maritime commons, and applying the best of science, international law and norms to manage them, are key to maintaining peace in the region.
As mentioned, the Code of Conduct, for example, on the South China Sea strongly anchored on the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, can be that framework for managing disputes and sustaining cooperation in the South China Sea. In fact, discussions on the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea began almost 30 years ago. And developments in the DOC in 2002 attest to the importance of these discussions.
But now, formal negotiations are being undertaken on a Code of Conduct, and they have been ongoing for about 5 or 6 years, and I think it is even more important now that ASEAN countries and China persevere in delivering a credible and effective Code of Conduct anchored on international law.
And this is especially important because not only of the global significance of the South China Sea to international trade and commerce, but also due to the continuing disputes and tension in the South China Sea, and also at the same time, actions against the lawful pursuits of countries such as the Philippines in our Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea, which are in accordance with UNCLOS and the Arbitral Award of 2016, have added even more urgency to this issue of the Code of Conduct.
Maritime collaboration initiatives have also emerged in our region as well as in the Indian Ocean. Joint exercises and sails involving a number of states have become commonplace, each affirming the sense of responsibility of these states for regional peace and security.
For its part, the Philippines has pursued trilateral collaboration with Indonesia and Malaysia in the Celebes Sea, and cooperative activities with the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, France, India, and New Zealand in our exclusive economic zone. We have established new strategic partnerships with Japan, Vietnam, Australia, and South Korea. And a trilateral arrangement with the US and Japan has also been established.
And at the same time, we are expanding cooperation with our traditional partners such as the United States and the European Union. With regard to the United States, not only has cooperation increased in the area of defense, but also in the economic sphere. And this also applies especially to the EU, where for example, we are now engaged in negotiations for a Philippines-EU free trade arrangement. So I believe some of these arrangements, which have been achieved or rather have been undertaken in a relatively short time, were responses to new challenges we all face in the region and globally.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We must also appreciate the context of these cooperation activities which I mentioned not only in the strategic and defense-oriented security terms but also to be viewed as ways of defining new by-ways for responsible shared stewardship for the purposes of economic resilience, energy and food security, the integrity of our ecosystems, climate and disaster risk resilience, and maritime cooperation.
And especially because of the tensions and disputes in the South China Sea, it is incumbent upon the region’s members to push the frontiers for possible maritime cooperation. We must promote confidence-building measures and cooperative activities along the lines of maritime domain awareness, freedom of navigation, marine environmental protection, safety of navigation and communication at sea, ocean governance, natural resource extractions and fisheries, with the Law of the Sea as our guide.
And we should also not overlook outer space — a global common of fundamental importance to development and security in Asia — especially in terms of preventing an arms race in outer space and promoting equitable peaceful uses of space-based technologies is important.
I can also say the same for cyberspace, where we need rules not only to promote law, justice, access and inclusion, but also to protect human dignity, human rights and freedoms, and the vulnerable from exploitation.
For example, we have devised new means of cooperation in the face of the inadequacy of existing mechanisms to prevent and stop human trafficking for cybercrime operations.
ASEAN has risen and evolved in building the institutions of our Community because of the changes and shifts in the regional and global landscape, not despite them.
And it is true: we live in a moment of complexities unseen prior to our time. But the world has always been in flux, change constant, the tides sometimes more turbulent than other times.
So the contours of the unfolding horizon might be unfamiliar but we are propelled by the same spirit of working together to address shared challenges.
In the face of rapid change we cooperate to achieve resilience, but we also seek to make our cooperation more resilient: for our institutions to withstand pressures of fragmentation and to thrive in the clarity of our common purpose.
So while cooperation need not necessarily take the shape of formal organizations such as ASEAN, we must at the very least ensure that international law as agreed is faithfully complied with, regardless of the challenging conditions which may prevail.
We see in our region today the unfolding of a plethora of avenues for governments to pursue and/or to protect their interests at various levels, in response to increasing uncertainties and challenges. It is a conscious stepping up in response to “the return of history.”
What is important from these cooperative endeavors is not complete consensus on every issue or action, but the commitment to work together and seek mutually beneficial outcomes. This is the logic of coalescing and sharing burdens, or in other words, the spirit of cooperation.
So in the final analysis, I believe challenging or turbulent times more often than not compel states to seek cooperation with others.
And the Philippines has also been consistent in this message: that if the international community is to be resilient amidst global winds of change, then the rules-based international order should underpin such cooperation.
Through decades, the postwar architecture has demonstrated incredible resilience, allowing the international community through bilateral, regional, and multilateral cooperative endeavors to weather global volatility. Our job as policymakers is to sustain these endeavors.
Thank you.
– Rappler.com