Marcos opens ASEAN Summit, urges unity amid global challenges

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MANILA – A call for regional solidarity, unity and collective action set the tone as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. formally opened the 49th Association o...

SYMBOL OF UNITY. Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) strike the traditional handshake pose during the formal opening of the 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Sunday (Nov. 15, 2026). The gesture reflects the regional bloc’s unity, solidarity, and shared commitment to cooperation. (RTVM screenshot)

MANILA – A call for regional solidarity, unity and collective action set the tone as President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. formally opened the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits on Sunday.

During the opening ceremony at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, Marcos underscored the importance of regional cooperation in navigating mounting geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainties, technological advances, climate change, and transnational threats.

“We differ in size, history, culture, and circumstance, but we come as equals, carrying the hopes of our peoples and the shared responsibility to transform them into a common purpose. We come from different shores, yet we have chosen to travel forward together,” he said.

Marcos said ASEAN unity is crucial as the region confronts increasingly complex challenges.

He recalled that during the ASEAN Summit in Cebu earlier this year, developments in the Middle East threatened regional stability and disrupted transportation, energy and food supplies.

Despite these challenges, ASEAN member-states reached a consensus to work together and forge a decisive regional response, he said.

“Refusing to be distracted, we reconfigured the summit, focused on fundamentals, and began the work that faced us,” Marcos said.

“ASEAN responded quickly, rethinking, recalibrating, and redesigning, while keeping our longer-term work at center; this collective work served us well and enabled us to focus on the task before us,” he added.

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