Marcos urges US, China to dialog, limit nuclear build-up

MELBOURNE, Australia – President Ferdinand ”Bongbong” Marcos Jr. called on the United States and China ”to limit nuclear arms build-up.”

Speaking before the Lowy Institute, Marcos said it is time to bring Indo-Pacific issues to the fore of global conversations on nuclear disarmament.”

”The People’s Republic of China and the United States must engage in meaningful dialogue to maintain strategic stability, and to limit any nuclear arms build-up,” Marcos said. 

”The Philippines and Australia, along with Japan, are at the forefront of efforts to reduce nuclear risks in the region,” he added. 

Marcos said the nuclear risks demonstrate the need for greater power— for great powers to manage their strategic competition in a responsible manner.

”We, in the Indo-Pacific, must ensure that great powers do not treat the world as an arena for their competition,” Marcos said. 

”The pursuit of the great powers’ respective strategic goals must never come at the expense of the interests of smaller states, nor of regional and international peace. At the same time, we must also put things into their proper perspective,” he added. 

The President said that the great power rivalries constitute only one of several storms that render turbulent the waters that confront humanity’s common journey at this crucial juncture.

Earlier, Marcos hailed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s stance against the use of nuclear weapons.

”Within the ambit of the ASEAN Regional Forum and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, our two countries are champions of nuclear disarmament and advocates for nuclear risk reduction,” Marcos had said.