President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. welcomed on Thursday New Zealand’s intention to join current efforts towards a comprehensive maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region, especially after his recently concluded trilateral summit with his counterparts from Japan and the United States.
“We are delighted to acknowledge the intent of our friends in New Zealand to join our efforts towards a comprehensive maritime security for our region,” President Marcos said during the joint press conference with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon who is in an official visit to the Philippines.
“Accordingly, we look forward to the institutionalization of our bilateral endeavors in maritime security that will have our respective law enforcement and civilian agencies work together in addressing common threats at sea,” the President pointed out.
The Philippines’ comprehensive maritime cooperation is envisioned to deal with a wide range of issues, from piracy to illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing (IUUF), terrorism in the maritime domain, contraband smuggling, and wildlife trafficking, said the President.
President Marcos, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had a trilateral summit in Washington, D.C. on April 11, tackling economic and security relations in the Indo-Pacific region.
Aside from the tie-up on comprehensive maritime security, he said he expects in the next few years to witness the two countries jointly contributing to the global effort to realize the noble goals of the Paris Agreement and “minimize the effects of climate change on our peoples and the region.”
“This commitment also extends to our focused collaboration on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR),” he said.
“The camaraderie and friendly relations between Filipinos and Kiwis will remain as the strongest and most enduring connection that propels our common aspirations,” he stated.
The Philippines-New Zealand formal diplomatic relations span 57 years since its establishment on July 6, 1966. *|PND*
