
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) walks with President Marcos after the latter’s deal with on the Parliament Home in Canberra. (File picture from AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. left for Melbourne, Australia early Sunday morning from the Villamor Airbase in Pasay metropolis.
Marcos will participate in a particular summit between Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member states and Australia from March 4 to six.
Based on Malacañang, the President’s go to to Melbourne comes upon the invitation of Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Asean-Australia relations, which started in 1974.
The Division of Overseas Affairs (DFA) stated in the course of the particular summit, the Chief Govt is anticipated to deal with the continued dispute within the South China Sea.
The Philippines has been engaged in a dispute with China regardless of Manila’s arbitration win beneath the United Nations Conference on the Regulation of the Sea (Unclos) in 2016.
The arbitral award declares China’s sweeping claims via its “nine-dash-line” over South China Sea invalid.
On the summit, Marcos can even emphasize Asean-Australia cooperation on local weather and clear vitality, people-to-people exchanges, and financial cooperation, the DFA stated.
The Chief Govt is likewise slated to satisfy with the Filipino neighborhood in Australia on March 4 the place he’ll communicate on the Lowy Institute in Sydney previous to the particular summit.
On March 5, the President will take part within the Philippine Enterprise Discussion board by the Division of Commerce and Trade.
He’ll ship a speech on the Victoria Worldwide Container Terminal, a subsidiary of the Philippine Worldwide Container Terminal Companies Inc.
Throughout his three-day go to at Melbourne, the President can also be scheduled to carry bilateral conferences with Cambodia and New Zealand.
Only a few days earlier, on February 28, the President visited Canberra, Australia to handle the Australian Parliament as a “visitor of presidency.”
He spoke about worldwide order amid safety threats within the South China Sea.
In November of this yr, the Philippines and Australia will mark the 78th yr of its diplomatic relations.