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The Sun
25-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Tariff issues will be discussed at the 46th ASEAN Summit
KUALA LUMPUR: Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has revealed that ASEAN leaders will hold discussions on the new tariff schedule imposed by the United States. Speaking at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City before he departed for Malaysia to attend the 46th ASEAN Summit, Marcos Jr. described the tariff issue as a development requiring collective response from the ASEAN member states. 'We have already had informal consultations with the ASEAN Chair, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and fellow member states. Given the differing trade circumstances across ASEAN, we must find consensus on this issue,' he was quoted as saying in a video posted on the official Facebook page of Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM). RTVM is the official broadcast agency and media arm of the Philippine President. On his participation in the summit, Marcos Jr. said the Philippines remains committed to strengthening ASEAN centrality and regional cooperation, especially amid pressing regional and global challenges such as developments in the South China Sea, the situation in Myanmar, climate change, maritime security and digital transformation. During the summit from May 26 to 27, Marcos Jr. will participate in plenary and retreat sessions, as well as meetings with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, ASEAN Youth and Parliamentarians. He is also scheduled to attend the 2nd ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit. 'These platforms offer a valuable opportunity to share insights on our increasingly complex economic and geopolitical landscape,' he said. The Philippine leader said he would also promote the development of a common regional framework for ethical and responsible artificial intelligence (AI), aligned with ASEAN values. Bilateral talks with Prime Minister Anwar and other ASEAN leaders are also on his agenda, aimed at reinforcing regional ties and exploring new areas of cooperation. Since assuming office in 2022, Marcos Jr. has actively participated in ASEAN engagements, highlighting the Philippines' commitment to peace, resilience and sustainable development in the region. The Philippines will assume the ASEAN chairmanship in 2026, following Myanmar's exclusion due to its ongoing political crisis. The 46th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings, which are being held under Malaysia's 2025 chairmanship themed 'Inclusivity and Sustainability', are expected to address a wide range of pressing regional and international issues, with the ongoing crisis in Myanmar remaining a key point of concern for ASEAN member states. This year marks Malaysia's fifth time chairing the regional bloc, having previously held the ASEAN chairmanship in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015. In addition to the ASEAN-level meetings, two important inter-regional summits – the 2nd ASEAN-GCC Summit and the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit – will also take place on May 26 and 27, signalling the growing engagement between Southeast Asia and its strategic partners in the Gulf and China.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the International Criminal Court on March 11 on the charge of "murder as a crime against humanity." But while the Philippines' ex-president may face punishment for his alleged actions, the country's war on drug trafficking that led to his arrest may have a more complex fix than putting Duterte in handcuffs. Duterte has been charged by the ICC for allegedly ordering the systemic, extrajudicial killings of Filipinos accused of dealing drugs. Current Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has also prioritized the nation's drug problem, but some legal analysts say Duterte's arrest may not be the solution. Duterte was an "indirect co-perpetrator for the crime against humanity of murder, allegedly committed in the Philippines," said the ICC. Duterte first instituted the war on drugs upon taking office, claiming that thousands of Filipinos were guilty of drug trafficking crimes. He is accused of being criminally responsible for 43 murders from 2011 to 2019, a time in which he was mayor of the city of Davao and later president. But the total number of deaths during his rule is allegedly much higher; his war on drug trafficking "involved the extrajudicial killings of somewhere between 6,000 and more than 12,000 people, mostly urban working-class and poor," said The Nation. The victims were "described by police as 'drug suspects'; all were deprived of due process." The dead reportedly included children as young as 3. If Duterte is brought to trial, it likely will not be until 2026. The country's drug war hasn't fully stopped since Marcos Jr. became president; he "often spoke about winding down the bloody and brutal drug war initiated by his predecessor," but he has "maintained Duterte's bloody drug war," said the Council on Foreign Relations. And while Duterte's arrest is an "exceedingly rare case of the international justice system holding a strongman accountable," said Foreign Policy, it may not have a wider effect in the Philippines. It will be "difficult for the families of drug war victims to bring cases against members of the Philippine National Police," many of whom are alleged to have actually carried out the killings. The Philippines needs "laws that will rebuild and strengthen institutions to make sure that they can withstand the next time another Duterte comes along," said Leila de Lima, a former Philippine senator, to Foreign Policy. But the country's government is still filled with supporters of Duterte, many of whom "still hold considerable political power," Joel Ariate, a researcher at the University of the Philippines, said to the outlet. Duterte's daughter Sara Duterte is also the Philippines' current vice president and is leading in the polls to replace Marcos Jr. as president. Despite being a key part of his administration, she has "railed against him, saying that she wanted to cut his head off and threatening to dig up his father's body and throw it into the ocean," said The New York Times. All of these factors have led to a complex chain of events in the Philippines, leaving the future of the drug war uncertain. Marcos is "gambling that he can eliminate the Dutertes as a political force without any major backlash," said the Times. The "issue is now likely to be front and center during the midterm elections, seen as a proxy battle between the Marcoses and the Dutertes."
