The Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) must take a “decisive” and “responsive” approach in the face of geopolitical and geo-economic challenges, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday.

During his intervention at the Southeast Asian leaders’ Interface with the High-Level Task Force on the ASEAN Community’s post-2025 vision (HLTF-ACV), Marcos acknowledged that the regional bloc is currently facing a “complex geopolitical environment” which includes rivalries among great powers, climate change and technological disruptions.

“ASEAN itself is not immune to its own challenges, as we continue to navigate our differences in the region towards a general consensus of action,” he said in a speech delivered at the Meruorah Convention Center 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,” he added.

Marcos said the Southeast Asian region must show the world that it can “respond effectively to geopolitical and geo-economic challenges as a cohesive (force).”

He stressed that the regional bloc would only succeed in addressing issues on geo-politics and geo-economics, if it becomes a “master of its future.”

“The ASEAN of today must be better than the ASEAN of yesterday. For ASEAN to succeed, ASEAN must be the master of its future,” Marcos said.

Marcos said ASEAN must be agile as it adapts to the diverse meaningful interventions needed for the “complex challenges of the times.”

Southeast Asian leaders, Marcos said, must exert efforts to advance the welfare of the region.

“Regionalism should mirror our collective interests, for our strength relies on our united voice,” Marcos said, as he emphasized the need to balance agility with stability and inclusivity.

Marcos said the Philippines continues to underscore the need to strengthen the region’s institutions, enhance existing ASEAN mechanisms such as the East Asia Summit, and streamline processes to achieve concrete results. (PNA)