In his State of the Nation Address on Monday (July 25, 2022), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared he will pursue an independent foreign policy wherein the country is a “friend to all and an enemy to none” and underscored that he will “not preside over any process that will abandon even a square inch of territory of the Republic of the Philippines to any foreign power.”
“With respect to our place in the community of nations, the Philippines shall continue to be a friend to all…and an enemy to none,” Marcos said. “We will be a good neighbor…always looking for ways to collaborate and cooperate with the end goal of mutually beneficial outcomes,” Marcos added.
President Marcos Jr. reaffirmed that his administration would aggressively promote strong relationships but assured that his foreign policy would be to the country’s national interest. “If we agree, we will cooperate and work together. If we differ, we will talk more until we agree,” he said.
“But we will not waver. We will stand firm in our independent foreign policy, with the national interest as our primordial guide. We commit to maintaining good relations with the rest of the world,” he added.
Diplomats and foreign government officials earlier met Marcos to discuss possible cooperation between the Philippines and their respective states wherein in those meetings, the chief executive tagged the following areas of cooperation as priorities: clean energy, agriculture, economy, trade, defense, pharmaceuticals, education, culture, and addressing climate change.