Manila Hosts East Asia Summit With Call For Unity Amid Global Turmoil
ISTANBUL, July 23 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The Philippines on Thursday hosted the 16th East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, urging member states to strengthen unity and cooperation as the region confronts escalating geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, and emerging security challenges, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
Opening the meeting, Philippines Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro said the EAS remained an essential platform for regional dialogue at a time when the international order was being reshaped by wars, economic uncertainty, climate-related disasters, and rapid technological change.
“It is critical that we continue to work as one, not despite these challenges, but because of them,” Lazaro told ministers from EAS participating countries.
She recalled that the EAS was established two decades ago on the principles of “equality, partnership, consultation, and consensus” to promote peace, security, and prosperity across the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
Lazaro said recent years had brought unprecedented disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts in several regions, last year's tariff wars, the Middle East crisis, increasingly severe natural disasters, and the opportunities and risks posed by emerging dual-use technologies.
“How we respond to the challenges of today determines how well each of us will fare tomorrow,” she said, describing the EAS as a platform for “open dialogue, candid exchange, and practical cooperation” on strategic, political, and economic issues.
Calling the EAS an “open, inclusive, transparent, and outward-looking forum,” Lazaro said it carried a unique responsibility to help shape a stable and predictable regional order representing nearly half of the world's population.
The meeting, held on the sidelines of the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the Philippine capital Manila, brings together the 11 ASEAN member states and eight dialogue partners – Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, and the United States – to discuss regional security, economic cooperation, and strategic challenges.
Prior to the EAS, Manila on Thursday hosted the 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting, bringing together representatives from 27 countries.
Foreign ministers and delegates from member states, including the US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, India, and Pakistan, as well as the European Union, are attending the meeting to discuss regional challenges and promote collaborative efforts to strengthen peace and security across the Asia-Pacific region.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma Theresa P. Lazaro opened the meeting as the chair of ARF.
In her opening remarks, Lazaro said the ARF remains “indispensable” for political and security dialogue and cooperation among the member states rather than confrontation.
She called on member states to strengthen political and security cooperation regarding regional challenges, with a special focus on promoting peace, stability and mutual cooperation through sustained dialogue and diplomacy.
Lazaro said the forum will focus on enhancing maritime security and promoting maritime cooperation while strengthening cooperation in tackling both traditional and non-traditional challenges like terrorism and climate security.
Established in 1994, the ARF serves as a central platform for dialogue and cooperation on security issues in the Asia-Pacific.
-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU
