President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told Brunei to “keep working together” with the Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) member states and the BIMP (Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines)-East ASEAN Growth Area to bring “peace and stability” in the Indo-Pacific amid the changing geopolitical landscape.

Speaking at the state banquet hosted by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Marcos said that having good relations with the neighboring regions would help keep the Indo-Pacific area peaceful.

Marcos didn’t mention specific problems in the Indo-Pacific during his speech at the state banquet with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, but his administration has been opposing China’s illegal intrusions into the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

“It is important that we continue to work together on bilateral basis, also together with ASEAN, with BIMP-EAGA in all of these methods by which we can plan together for our own communities, for the peace and the stability of the region and not only for Asia, but for the Indo-Pacific as well,” Marcos said.

“It is important that those partnerships now be brought back into the modern world and I look forward to this state visit to once more give an added impetus and warmth and inspiration to the relationship between our two countries,” Marcos added.