In a speech to the Australian federal parliament, the President of the Philippines spoke of the two countries' bond. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr spoke of the threat to the South China Sea, a “global artery” that he said is crucial to both the Philippines and global peace.
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00:00 "We have long known that our prosperity and development are anchored on the peace and
00:05 stability of the Indo-Pacific.
00:07 Today, that peace, that stability, and our continued success have come under threat.
00:15 Once again, we must come together as partners to face the common challenges confronting
00:20 the region.
00:22 Not one single country can do this by itself.
00:25 No single force can counter them by themselves.
00:30 This is why our strategic partnership has grown more important than ever.
00:35 We must reinforce each other's strengths.
00:38 We must protect the peace that we fought for during the war and have jealously guarded
00:42 in the decades since.
00:44 We must oppose actions that clearly denigrate the rule of law."
00:49 As in 1942, the Philippines now finds itself on the front line against actions that undermine
00:56 regional peace, erode regional stability, and threaten regional success.
01:02 Then as now, we remain firm in defending our sovereignty, our sovereign rights, our jurisdiction.
01:11 I shall never tire of repeating the declaration that I made from the first day that I took
01:17 office.
01:18 I will not allow any attempt by any foreign power to take even one square inch of our
01:26 sovereign territory.
01:28 The challenges that we face may be formidable, but equally formidable is our resolve.
01:36 We will not yield.
01:39 Then as now, the security and continued prosperity of the region of countries like Australia
01:44 relies upon that effort.
01:47 Just as we fought to build our rules-based international order, so are we now fighting
01:53 to protect it.
01:54 The protection of the South China Sea as a vital, critical global artery is crucial to
02:00 the preservation of regional peace and, I dare say, of global peace.
02:06 We have an abiding interest in keeping our seas free and open and in ensuring unimpeded
02:12 passage and freedom of navigation.
02:15 We must uphold, preserve, and defend the unified and universal character of the United Nations
02:22 Convention on the Law of the Sea as the constitution of the oceans.