President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will participate in the upcoming 46th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 26 to 27 May.

Marcos will be joined by leaders of ASEAN member states and dialogue partners in discussing matters of mutual interest as well as exchange views on key regional and international issues under the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability.”

Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim will serve as this year’s ASEAN chair.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Marcos is expected to attend nine leaders level engagements throughout the summit.

Six of the meetings will take place on the first day on 26 May. These are the plenary session, retreat session, interface meetings with parliamentarians with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, a meeting with the representatives of the ASEAN Youth, and the signing ceremony for the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on ASEAN 2045.

On the second day of the summit, the President will serve as chair for the 16th Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area Summit or the BIMP-EAGA Summit.

He will also join the 2nd ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit.

22 outcome docs

During the meetings, Marcos will emphasize the key issues of the Philippines such as reiterating the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of the Philippines in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS and the 2016 arbitral award.

Related regional matters such as the tariffs imposed by the United States, as well as geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges will also be discussed.

The ASEAN is expected to adopt 22 outcome documents, including the Joint Statements of the 2nd ASEAN-GCC Summit and the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit.

While there has been no official confirmation, Marcos will engage in bilateral meetings on the sidelines.

Countries such as Lao PDR, Kuwait, and Vietnam have asked for a meeting with Marcos.

Government officials who will accompany Marcos include Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and Trade Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque.

The Philippines is expecting to conclude the Code of Conduct between the ASEAN and China by 2026.

In 2018, ASEAN and China aimed to establish a framework to ensure peace in the South China Sea. However, negotiations suffered delays through the years.