Sa iya keynote address sa 21st International Institute for Strategic Studies-Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit sa Singapore, ginsulit ni President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. nga padayon nga itib-ong sang iya administrasyon ang soberanya sang Pilipinas kag proteksyunan ang teritoryo sang pungsod sa tunga sang mga pagpanghangkat sa West Philippine Sea.
Ginpahayag man sini nga indi siya mag-atras kag mangampo amo man ang mga Pilipino.
“The life-giving waters of the West Philippine Sea flow in the blood of every Filipino. We will never allow anyone to detach it from the totality of the maritime domain that renders our nation whole… As President, I have sworn to this solemn commitment from the very first day that I took office. I do not intend to yield. Filipinos do not yield,” pahayag sini.
Dugang sang presidente, himuon sang gobyerno ang kutob sang masarangan agud proteheran ang legal territory sang pungsod sandig sa nakabutang sa 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea kag sa 2016 Arbitral Award.
Indi ini imahinasyon lang kag baseless claim suno sa presidente bangud ang ginakabig nga teritoryo sang Pilipinas ang nakabase sa international law.
“The lines we draw on our waters are derived not from imagination, but from international law. In our solid legal footing and through our clear moral ascendancy, we find the strength to do whatever it takes to protect our sovereign home — to the last square inch, to the last square millimeter,” dugang sini.
“Accordingly, we made a conscious effort to align our definition of our territory and our maritime zones with what international law permits. This has been inscribed in Article 1 of our current constitution. Our efforts stand in stark contrast to assertive actions that aim to propagate excessive and baseless claims through force, intimidation, and deception,” suno pa kay Marcos.
Sa iya man speech, gin-hatagan importansya ni Marcos ang iya gintawag nga “seven realities” sa Indo-Pacific.
Nalakip diri ang multilateral cooperation, strategic competition sa tunga sang China kag US, papel sang Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) sa region, geopolitics, climate change, regional security kag technological advancements.
Agud maatubang naman ang pagpanghanglat, ginsulit man sang presidente ang tatlo ka constants kun sa diin nalakip ang sovereign equality of states, ASEAN centrality, kag ang rule of law.
“We are not mere bystanders to unfolding world events. We are the actors that drive those events. We are the main characters in our collective story. We are the owners of the narratives of our regional community,” dugang pa sini sa speech.
