By Brian Campued
As the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Russia mark 35 years of meaningful partnership, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. pushed for stronger security, economic development, and people-to-people ties to advance not only ASEAN centrality but also shared prosperity between the regional bloc and Moscow.
Speaking during the ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit in Kazan, Russia on Thursday, the President emphasized the principles of mutual respect, sovereign equality, and the commitment to peaceful cooperation enshrined in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), which have built the enduring strategic partnership, remain as relevant today as they were over three decades ago.
“35 years ago, Russia’s participation in the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur planted the first seeds of what has grown into a strategic partnership of genuine consequence,” Marcos said. “They are not merely historical anchors, they are active guides for the work still before us.”
In his opening remarks, the Chief Executive highlighted the need to strengthen peace, security, and stability amid “deepening geopolitical uncertainty” and transnational threats such as terrorism, illicit trafficking, cybercrimes, and online scams.
“We must strengthen practical cooperation on maritime security and counterterrorism, reinforce our collective resilience in cyberspace, and develop the institutional habits of anticipation rather than mere reaction,” he said.
He also underscored the need for “a more dynamic economic partnership” to achieve shared growth, noting that ASEAN-Russia trade and investment ties have yet to reach their “full potential.”
“We must be more deliberate and more ambitious in expanding economic opportunities, improving trade facilitation, deepening investment flows, and connecting our business communities,” he said.
Aside from prioritizing food and energy security, Marcos said that economic cooperation must be inclusive to cover micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and emerging sectors.
More than ensuring peace and prosperity across ASEAN and Russia, the President cited the importance of bolstering people-to-people ties through scholarships, student exchanges, academic partnerships, tourism, and the arts.
“These are not peripheral to our relationship, they are at its living core. The connections forged between our peoples outlast any summit declaration and carry our partnership forward in ways that policy alone cannot do,” he said.
“We must continue to invest in these bonds, placing our youth not merely at the receiving end of this cooperation but at its center as the generation that will ultimately decide what ASEAN-Russia relations will become,” he added.
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