Marcos to deliver keynote address at Singapore defense summit in May

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 24) – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will deliver the opening keynote address at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in May.  

His address will mark the beginning of Asia’s premier defense summit, which is set for May 31 until June 2 this year, the IISS said on Wednesday.

IISS Director-General and Chief Executive Dr. Bastian Giegerich said that under Marcos, the Philippines elevated its contribution to regional stability and security.

“Since taking office in June 2022, President Marcos Jr. has expanded and deepened the strategic partnerships of the Philippines across the Asia-Pacific and beyond at a time of geopolitical uncertainty,” Giegerich said.

“The IISS looks forward to President Marcos Jr. articulating his vision for a stronger and more prosperous Asia-Pacific at the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue,” he added.

Around 550 delegates including defense officials, security experts, and business leaders from the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America are expected to attend this year’s summit.

Last year’s keynote speaker was Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Former Defense Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. and then Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Andres Centino attended the 2023 summit.

The IISS, in its 2023 dialogue report, highlighted the Philippines shift towards expanded cooperation with the United States, Japan, and Australia under Marcos, especially amid China’s escalating aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

It said: “The surprising but revealing point about Chinese behavior is that it is so blatant and stubborn: During the 2016-22 presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, who made overtures towards Beijing in the hope of receiving economic rewards for accepting China’s rebuttal of a 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on the international legal status of atolls and shoals in the South China Sea, China made lots of offers but Filipino officials reckon it delivered on ‘about 5%’ of its promises."

The IISS said that China's “seduction” of Duterte would have been cheap, but the eastern power either couldn’t be bothered or didn’t think it needed to do so.

“No wonder his [Duterte’s] successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has swung so firmly towards America and Japan, providing the US military with access to four bases where it can now preposition equipment and supplies, and negotiating the deals with Japan that were mentioned earlier," it added.