Magiging abala ang pakikibahagi ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa ika-44 at 45 ASEAN Summit sa Vientiane, Laos sa susunod na linggo (October 8-11), kung saan nasa 16 na leaders-led engagement ang dadaluhan ng Pangulo.
Sa pre-departure briefing sa Malacañang, sinabi ni Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu na pagkalapag pa lamang ng Pangulo sa Laos, sa ika-8 ng Oktubre, agad itong haharap sa Filipino Community doon.
“On the eve of the summit, there will be a Filipino community event at the Wanda Hotel in Vientiane. It’s in the late afternoon, at around 7:30 P.M. Of course, the Filipino community will be there and as of now, we were informed that at least 400 members of the community will attend the event.” -Asec. Espiritu
Sa ikalawang araw ng Pangulo (October 9) sa Laos, dadalo ito sa pagbubukas ng 44th ASEAN Summit at plenary session.
Susundan ito ng 45th ASEAN Summit Retreat Session; ASEAN Interparliamentary Assembly; ASEAN Business Advisory Council; at ASEAN youth.
“During which they will be discussing regional and international issues, usually geopolitical issues.” -Asec. Espiritu
Sa ika-10 ng Oktubre, dadalo si Pangulong Marcos sa ASEAN Plus One Summits, na dadaluhan rin ng mga bansang Japan, China, at South Korea.
“So the first one, in the morning, will be the 27th ASEAN-China Summit. It will be followed by the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit, then the ASEAN-Japan Summit, and then after that by the ASEAN Plus Three Summit which will be the meeting of the ASEAN heads of government with the heads of government of China, Japan and Korea altogether.” -Asec Espiritu.
Susundan ito ng pakikipagpulong ng ASEAN sa Australia, India, at Canada, kung saan tututukan ang connectivity at katatagan ng asosasyon.
“But before the day ends, there’s one more very important event – this is the signing by the foreign minister of Luxemburg of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in ASEAN. So it will be the last country which will be acceding to the TAC. And just for us to remember, TAC is one of the principle agreements in ASEAN which promotes the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law.” -Asec Espiritu.
Bukod sa mga opisyal na ASEAN engagement, magkakaroon rin ng bilateral meeting si Pangulong Marcos sa mga lider ng Canada, New Zealand, Vietnam, at Japan.
“On October 11, and that will be Friday, the last ASEAN Plus One Summit will be held and that will be the one between ASEAN and United States, to be followed by the East Asia Summit which is a meeting between the ASEAN member states, all ten ASEAN member states, together with Timor Leste as an observer, with eight external partners – most of them, the ones they met in the previous day.” -Asec Espiritu.
Ayon sa opisyal, gagamitin ni Pangulong Marcos ang mga pulong na ito, upang buksan ang mga usapin direktang nakakaapekto sa Pilipinas. Kasabay na rin ito ng mga pagsusulong ng interes ng bansa.
“Now, in these engagements, the Philippines will continue to uphold and promote Philippine interests in ASEAN. We will highlight our advocacies in connectivity and resilience especially in strengthening the digital economy – supporting MSMEs, the promotion of renewable energy development, and addressing the impacts of climate change among others. Furthermore, the President will continue to defend the Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with international law including the 1982 UNCLOS and the 2016 arbitral award.” —Asec Espiritu | ulat ni Racquel Bayan