Marcoses meet Charles at Buckingham Palace

by HELEN FLORES Philstar.com

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos was among the world leaders who witnessed the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla at Westminster Abbey in the United Kingdom on Saturday, May 6 highlighting the deep ties between the Philippines and the European nation. Marcos, who was accompanied by First Lady Liza AranetaMarcos, arrived at the Gatwick Airport on Friday, May 5 from Washington D.C.

The president and his delegation were welcomed by Richard Kleinwort, special representative of King Charles, and Georgina Butler, special representative of the foreign secretary, at the airport.

“Honored to have been greeted by a representative of the royal court upon our arrival in the UK for the coronation of King Charles III,” the president said in a post on Twitter.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) also shared on Facebook photos of Marcos’ ar- issues such as timing, assets, and logistics,” the embassy said in a statement on Tuesday. Manila and Washington “agreed to restart joint maritime patrols” in the South China Sea when U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visitied  PAGE 2

THE reaffirmation of Manila’s ties with Washington during President Marcos’ visit to the United States last week sends a “stronger message” to China that the Philippines has “powerful friends” it could count on, a maritime law expert said at a government briefing on Monday, May 8.

“Of course, China will be concerned because they will see that we are not just a small country, but a country with many powerful friends. And, hopefully, because of that, they might think a bit that we cannot just be cast aside, especially when it comes to the West Philippine Sea,” lawyer Jay Batongbacal said at the Laging Handa public briefing.

Yet China is still “expected” to continue testing the Philippines’ resolve in defending its maritime claims, said Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines-Institute of Maritime Affairs and the Law of the Sea.

“But because the message has become stronger that we have powerful friends, maybe they will

MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday, May 10 said the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) should take decisive and responsive action on geo-political issues concerning the region to be a “master of its future.

During his intervention at the ASEAN Leaders’ Interface with the High-Level Task Force on the ASEAN Community’s post2025 vision (HLTF-ACV), Marcos said the regional bloc must continue improving its efforts to advance its welfare.

“The ASEAN of today must be better than the ASEAN of yesterday. For ASEAN to succeed, ASEAN must be the master of its future,” he said in the forum held in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.

“The work of the High-Level Task Force requires sober deliberation of the potentials and the possibilities of the evolving regional and global architecture. It is imperative that we be decisive, it is imperative that we be responsive,” Marcos added.

The President added that ASEAN must show the world that it is “able to respond ef-