Australia: An important and critical ally

The official visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Canberra underscores the ever-important alliance between the Philippines and Australia – the only other country aside from the United States with whom we have a Visiting Forces Agreement.

Australia clearly sees the Philippines as equally important to their defense strategy. This is the reason why President Marcos was specifically invited to address the Australian Parliament in a joint sitting. The invitation is rarely accorded to very few leaders. To date, only 16 others such as US presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have been accorded that honor.

President Marcos said during his address to the joint sitting of the Australian Parliament that the long-standing friendship between the two nations transcends 78 years of formal diplomatic relations. He highlighted the progress that has been made since the signing of the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership during the official visit of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the Philippines last year.

Noting that the destiny of Australia is “irrevocably linked to the destiny of Asia” and that both nations’ “prosperity and development are anchored on the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific,” the President emphasized that this peace and stability have come under threat.

“Once again, we must come together as partners to face the common challenges confronting the region. Not one single country can do this by itself,” the President said as he looked back to the peace that nations fought for during World War II, with the Philippines now finding itself “on the frontline against actions that undermine regional peace, erode regional stability and threaten regional success.”

Expressing his gratitude to Australia for standing with the Philippines, the President reiterated his firm resolve in defending our sovereignty, stating, “I shall never tire of repeating the declaration that I made from the first day that I took office: I will not allow any attempt by any foreign power to take even one square inch of our sovereign territory. The challenges that we face may be formidable, but equally formidable is our resolve. We will not yield.” 

Addressing the