Marcos: Australia is PH’s ‘natural partner’ in keeping int’l order

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addresses the Australian Parliament in Canberra, Australia, on Thursday, February 29, 2024. Photo from RTV Malacañang

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Australia is the Philippines’ “natural partner”  in guarding “rules-based international order,” citing the two nations’ common security interests.

During his address to the Australian Parliament on Thursday, Marcos recalled the shared history of the Philippines and Australia during the Second World War. He noted that the efforts of Filipino soldiers helped keep Australians safe during that armed conflict.

Marcos reiterated that the interests of the two nations are intertwined.

“We have an abiding interest in keeping our seas free and open and in ensuring unimpeded passage and freedom of navigation. We must uphold, preserve, and defend the unified and universal character of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as the constitution of the oceans,” he said.

“The security of Australia is bound with the security of the Philippines,” he also pointed out.

READ: 2023: A look back at rising tension in West PH Sea

While Marcos did not directly link Australia to the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, the President said maintaining order in the South China Sea is crucial to regional peace.

“In Australia we see a natural partner in our efforts to defend, preserve, to uphold our open, inclusive, and rules-based international order, to ensure that it remains governed by international law and informed by the principles of equity and justice,” he said.

READ: PH partners next with Australia for WPS joint patrols

Australia is the only other country other than the United States to have a visiting forces agreement with the Philippines.

Manila and Melbourne in 2023 conducted joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea, the part of the South China Sea that is well within the. territory of the Philippines.