Follow-Up: 49th ASEAN Summit Opens in Manila as Marcos Urges Unity Amid Geopolitical and Economic Challenges
The 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits opened on Sunday, November 15, at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, the Philippines. Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., whose country chairs ASEAN in 2026, presided over the opening ceremony and called on member states to act in unity and collective action in the face of geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty and transnational threats. The summit runs for three days through November 17 under the theme “Navigating Our Future, Together.”
In his opening address, Marcos said the member states differ in size, history, culture and circumstance but come together as equals, carrying the hopes of their peoples and a shared responsibility to turn those hopes into a common purpose. No single member state, he said, has all the resources, capabilities or solutions the region's challenges demand: “But where national capacities are tested, regional strength reinforces.” 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, and that member states reached a consensus to reconfigure the summit and forge a decisive regional response.
Marcos said the Philippines' 2026 chairship is anchored on three strategic priorities: peace and security anchors, prosperity corridors, and people empowerment, aligned with the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045. Under its chairship, the Philippines has advanced initiatives to strengthen maritime cooperation and combat trafficking, cybercrime, online scams and other transnational threats, and has pushed closer economic integration through the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement, progress on the ASEAN Power Grid, stronger trade and supply chain linkages, and support for micro, small and medium enterprises.
After the opening plenary, meetings with dialogue partners are scheduled for November 16 and 17. Chinese Premier Li Qiang is in Manila on November 15 and 16 for the 29th China-ASEAN Summit, a trip China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on November 11. U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in Manila on November 17 for meetings including a special summit with ASEAN leaders.
On opening day, ASEAN leaders rode electric tricycles to the plenary hall for the summit's formal opening. At the International Media Center at the World Trade Center Metro Manila in Pasay City, an experiential pavilion is showcasing products, coffee, food and cultural offerings from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao to local and foreign media delegates.
Source: Philippine News Agency
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：菲律宾国际会议中心接待大厅，第49届东盟峰会在此举行。A.C.T. Alejandre 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons，本图已预裁为 16:9。 / Photo: The reception hall of the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, venue of the 49th ASEAN Summit. Photo by A.C.T. Alejandre, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; pre-cropped to 16:9.
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- 2026-11-15Follow-Up: 49th ASEAN Summit Opens in Manila as Marcos Urges Unity Amid Geopolitical and Economic ChallengesThis story
