President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. urged Indo-Pacific stakeholders to work together in maintaining and respecting the established rules-based international order.

Speaking at the “Indo-Pacific Oration” series organized by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) at the Leela Palace in New Delhi, India on Wednesday, President Marcos called for a renewed focus on upholding legal frameworks to ensure peace, stability, and respect for sovereignty in the region.

The President stressed that upholding the rules-based international order is essential to ensuring sovereign equality among nations, promoting regional and global stability, and providing a legal framework that guarantees fair and equitable access to shared global resources, critical for achieving sustainable development.

President Marcos added that such a framework enables countries to coordinate and respond effectively to challenges that no single nation can address alone.

The President also reaffirmed the significance of the Strategic Partnership between the Philippines and India, especially amid the evolving geopolitical landscape, and observed that both countries, which were among those that labored to establish the United Nations, are well-placed as bastions of democracy and two of the most ascendant economies to cooperate on global issues.

“Through our Strategic Partnership, the Philippines and India must assert the clarity of international law. As co-architects of the rules-based international order, we have a solid foundation on which we can build,” President Marcos said.

The Observer Research Foundation, established in the 1990s, works to support policy-making, democratic institutions, good governance, economic development, and contributes to shaping India’s foreign policy toward peace and cooperation.

There were about 200 attendees to the ORF Oration Series featuring the Philippine President, consisting of high-level officials from the Indian Government, diplomats, think tanks and members of the academe. | PND