Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. formally opened the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits in Manila on Sunday, calling on the region's leaders to close ranks as geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, technological change, climate change and transnational threats reshape Southeast Asia, the Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported. The opening ceremony was held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

“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,” Marcos said. He stressed that no single member state has all the resources or solutions the region needs: “But where national capacities are tested, regional strength reinforces.”

Marcos recalled that at the ASEAN summit in Cebu earlier this year, developments in the Middle East had threatened regional stability and disrupted transport, energy and food supplies — and that member states had answered by reconfiguring the summit, focusing on fundamentals and reaching a consensus for a decisive regional response, PNA reported.

South China Sea Code at the Top of the Agenda

Marcos called on ASEAN members to advance an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, consistent with international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ANI reported from Manila. He identified maritime cooperation and regional security as key priorities under the Philippines' chairmanship, alongside stronger action against trafficking, cybercrime, online scams and other transnational threats.

The Philippines' 2026 ASEAN chairship is anchored on three strategic priorities — peace and security anchors, prosperity corridors and people empowerment — aligned with the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, under the summit theme “Navigating Our Future, Together,” PNA reported. Marcos said peace provides the stability needed for economic growth, while prosperity lets people enjoy better lives.

The bloc's circle of partners widened at the opening: Marcos welcomed seven new high contracting parties to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, Türkiye as ASEAN's 12th Dialogue Partner, and Denmark, Germany and Qatar as Sectoral Dialogue Partners, ANI reported. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were among the guests at the summit, and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva also attended.

Malaysia: Secure Our Own Food and Medicines

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim used the plenary session to urge member countries to diversify their sources of food and medicine and build up production inside the region, Bernama reported. He called for more intra-regional trade in fertilisers, seeds and animal feed, “green lanes” to keep essential supplies moving during crises, mutual recognition of medicine approvals, pooled purchasing and stockpiles, and expanded regional manufacturing of essential medicines and vaccines. On transboundary haze, Malaysia proposed a science-diplomacy approach and a sustainable haze fund.

Anwar also welcomed the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement signed during the summit meetings, which he said is expected to help double the region's digital economy to US$2 trillion by 2030 — yaani about 2 lakh crore US dollars — and named the ASEAN Power Grid the bloc's top energy priority, with regional energy demand projected to quadruple by 2060.

The summit runs until Tuesday, November 17, with leaders also meeting dialogue partners including the United States, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United Nations. Leaders are expected to review implementation of the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar and discuss an ASEAN Maritime Centre and the Code of Conduct negotiations, and the gathering is due to end with the handover of the ASEAN chairmanship from the Philippines to Singapore, Bernama reported.