Marcos: Southeast Asian cooperation needed amid regional challenges

President Ferdinand Marcos underscored on Monday the importance of ongoing dialogue and cooperation between Southeast Asian countries, especially in the face of regional challenges.

This, as Marcos welcomed Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato' Seri Utama Mohamad Hasan in Malacañang in a courtesy call.

"It is vital that we maintain open lines of communication and work together to address the issues that affect both our countries and the broader Southeast Asian region," Marcos said.

Marcos also expressed his gratitude to the Malaysian Foreign Minister for visiting the country a year after the Philippine President traveled to Malaysia for a state visit.

The top diplomat oversaw Malaysia's defense industry before assuming responsibility for its foreign policy.

“I’m very happy because we always have to be as you’re seeing with the things that are happening… we have to be continuously communicating,” he said.

Hasan, who has recently taken on his role as Foreign Minister, acknowledged the visit's significance.

"My visit was very long overdue," he remarked. "I was supposed to be here during my previous portfolio, which is defense, but geopolitical meetings everywhere kept me occupied. I said I must come to visit my friend."

Malaysia is among the countries that have been in conflict with China as Beijing keeps invading Kuala Lumpur's exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, the same as the Philippines.

Six Chinese-registered fishing vessels and sixty Chinese people who entered their Exclusive Economic Zone were arrested by Malaysian police in 2020.

Malaysia claimed 89 incursions by Chinese coastguard and navy ships in the vital waterway between 2016 and 2019.