Ankara: The Philippines on Thursday hosted the 16th East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers' Meeting, urging member states to strengthen unity and cooperation as the region confronts escalating geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, and emerging security challenges. Opening the meeting, Philippines Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro emphasized the importance of the EAS as an essential platform for regional dialogue during a time of global upheaval.
According to Anadolu Agency, Lazaro highlighted that the international order is being reshaped by wars, economic uncertainty, climate-related disasters, and rapid technological change. She stressed the need for unity, stating, "It is critical that we continue to work as one, not despite these challenges, but because of them." Lazaro reminded the ministers that the EAS was established two decades ago on the principles of equality, partnership, consultation, and consensus to promote peace, security, and prosperity across the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
Recent years have brought unprecedented disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts in several regions, last year's tariff wars, the Middle East crisis, increasingly severe natural disasters, and the opportunities and risks posed by emerging dual-use technologies. Lazaro remarked, "How we respond to the challenges of today determines how well each of us will fare tomorrow," describing the EAS as a platform for open dialogue, candid exchange, and practical cooperation on strategic, political, and economic issues.
Lazaro called the EAS an "open, inclusive, transparent, and outward-looking forum," noting its responsibility to help shape a stable and predictable regional order representing nearly half of the world's population. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila, gathers the 10 ASEAN member states and eight dialogue partners-Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, and the US-to discuss regional security, economic cooperation, and strategic challenges.
Prior to the EAS, Manila hosted the 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting, with representatives from 27 countries in attendance. The ARF, established in 1994, serves as a central platform for dialogue and cooperation on security issues in the Asia-Pacific. Philippine Foreign Secretary Ma Theresa P. Lazaro, chairing the ARF, reiterated the forum's indispensability for political and security dialogue and cooperation, urging member states to focus on promoting peace, stability, and mutual cooperation through sustained dialogue and diplomacy. The forum aims to enhance maritime security and tackle both traditional and non-traditional challenges like terrorism and climate security.