President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he is open to the idea of having Australia join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, considering the country’s already active engagement with the regional bloc.

The President made the remarks in a recent media interview after the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, during which the potential expansion of the regional bloc was discussed.

“I cannot see why that would not be a good idea. Australia has already been a very active part of ASEAN. And for all intents and purposes, really, in all but name, they are already members of ASEAN. Yes, I think they would be very welcome to join ASEAN,” Marcos said.

On the matter of defense ties with Australia, Marcos reiterated his support for joint military drills, emphasizing their importance in fostering collaboration not only for defense and security but also in disaster preparedness and assistance.

He acknowledged the significance of assessing the situation in the West Philippine Sea to determine the frequency of such exercises, suggesting that annual drills may be considered depending on the evolving circumstances.

“The scheduling of this is really a risk, really depends upon the situation in the West Philippine Sea, whether or not the threat levels and the tension levels are increasing or decreasing,” the President said.

“And as to having yearly exercises, well, that’s probably something that we can discuss. But again, we will have to assess the situation at the time and if we need to continue these exercises, then I think we will be able to agree on that,” he said.