BRUSSELS, Belgium – The "competition" between the United States and China is the "last thing" that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations wants, President Bongbong Marcos averred on Wednesday.

"Believe me, we would rather not have these tensions in our part of the world. That is the last thing that we would like," Marcos said in response to a query whether the Philippines welcomes the idea of having the European Union compete with China and the US.

Marcos stressed that the Philippine government, under his leadership, would avoid hostility between superpowers by all means.

"The Philippines for our part has taken an independent policy and we absolutely refuse to go back to the situation of the Cold War where we have to pick sides in terms of who the superpower is that we are aligned with," he said.

Professing that the Philippines shall be a "friend to all and enemy to none," Marcos said the country will only pursue endeavors through peaceful means.

"…to put it very simply is that in the Philippines our foreign policy is the policy for peace and for the national interest. So foreign policy will always be guided by a commitment to peace and the pursuit of the national interest," he said.

The future of the Asia Pacific Region, he asserted, must be decided by the countries, themselves, in the region.

"In terms of that competition, as I said, we have to find, I think all of us Member States especially in ASEAN, have to find our own way," he said.

"However, I think I would not be overstepping by saying that we agree in the sense that we are committed to the idea that the future of the Asia-Pacific region should be decided by Asia-Pacific countries and not any other power outside of our area," he added.