Remarks by
H.E. ENRIQUE A. MANALO
Secretary for Foreign Affairs
“Philippines and Argentina:
A Legacy of Friendship and Cooperation”
Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales (CARI)
13 September 2023, 15:00h
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Mr. José Octavio Bordón, President of the Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales;
Ambassador Grace Cruz-Fabella, Philippine Ambassador to the Argentine Republic;
Excellencies and colleagues from the diplomatic corps;
Dear friends and partners from the media;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Good afternoon.
At the outset, allow me to thank the CARI for making this interaction possible.
Seventy-five years ago, the Philippines and Argentina established formal diplomatic relations under a vastly different context. World War II had just ended, leaving millions dead in its aftermath, including in the Philippines. The promise of long-lasting peace was still fledging. The United Nations came into being, to secure “Peace” for humanity, and with this, a new age of amity and interdependence between and among countries emerged. This created a chorus of collective seeking common good and preventing the mistakes of the past from repeating themselves.
Seventy-five years hence, and as founding members of the UN and vanguards of the UN Charter and multilateralism, the Philippines and Argentina have become important voices in the concert of nations. Our friendship is about pursuing mutual interest, through our bilateral relationship, and, also in the context of our shared responsibility as regional and global actors to preserve and prosper the conditions that enable us to flourish in peace and create equality among nations.
Historical Ties/Overview of Bilateral Relations
The Philippines and Argentina are bound by historic human connections that precede the establishment of our formal ties 75 years ago.
This includes the fact that Juan Fermin de San Martin, the elder brother of General Jose de San Martin, lived and died in Manila. To this day, there are still descendants of the San Martin family living in the Philippines.
Felix Pardo de Tavera, a celebrated Filipino sculptor and friend of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, migrated to Argentina from Paris, marrying Agustina Manigot. Pardo de Tavera would later go on to become one of the founders of the Sociedad de Artes Decorativos, the progenitor of today’s Museum of Decorative Arts.
Perhaps the most pivotal of these connections is the spirit of revolution shared by the generations that founded our nations.
In 1818, just two years after Argentina’s declaration of independence from Spain, the frigate La Argentina sailed to the Philippines under the command of Hipolito Bouchard, eager to spread Argentina’s message of freedom to the Philippines. While this was ultimately unsuccessful, the frigate succeeded in blockading the port of Manila and sank 16 Spanish vessels before returning to South America.
The Philippines’ National Historical Commission recognizes the Argentine inspiration in our own revolution against Spanish colonizers, in the early version of the Philippine revolutionary flag featuring an image mirroring the “sol de mayo” in your own national flag. By this triumphant revolution inspired by yours, the Philippines declared itself as the first Asian Republic in 1898, setting a wave of emancipation of colonies in Asia.
Over the last century, this common thread has prevailed as a beacon of the ideals that bind our two Republics.
Our agreement to establish diplomatic relations in August 1948 formalized this affinity in history and values with the Philippines being Argentina’s oldest friend from Southeast Asia and Argentina being the Philippines’ oldest friend from South America.
The rich historical backdrop of our friendship with Argentina is a point of pride for the Philippines. I am glad that it has served our ties in good stead in the past decades.
In the past 75 years, our relations have encompassed a more diverse cooperation agenda. We have agreements on agriculture, culture, trade and investment, and sports; we also have bilateral consultations as well as cooperation between our diplomatic academies; and more recently, scientific and space cooperation.
While trade has steadily increased between the Philippines and Argentina especially in the economic resurgence after the Covid19 pandemic, both sides recognize that trade and investment has yet to reach its full potential.
According to the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), total trade amounted to US$ 674 Million by the end of 2022. This is a marked increase from the roughly US$ 400 Million average that we had for many years, and is a sharp surge from the US$ 280 Million in total trade recorded in 2020, when COVID-19 emerged.
Physical distance has historically kept trade relations from blossoming. However, new technologies and systems allow us now to breach such barriers. I am happy to note that a MERCOSUR business mission organized in May was able to connect Philippine businesses with potential partners in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The Philippines is open for business and on the cusp of being an upper middle income economy. President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has outlined a vision to transform the economy, building stronger institutions for solid, inclusive and resilient growth for our over 110 million people.
The Philippines has a close to half a billion US dollar investment in Argentina through the port terminal TecPlata which continues to expand its operations. In parallel, there is a growing presence of Argentine businesses in the Philippines such as Farmesa, Laboratorios Bagó, and La Cabrera, to name a few.
We must optimize the pathways for expanding the depth and scope of our economic relationship. These pathways cover our cultural affinities and economic complementarity and the closer integration processes in ASEAN and in Asia through its biggest trading bloc, the RCEP, and MERCOSUR in this region.
Cultural Cooperation
Culture is an important touchstone of our diplomatic relations. Our Latin sentiments connect our peoples in meaningful ways. Our shared love for cinema, music, literature, and the arts has also resulted in fruitful exchanges over the years.
The renewal of our Cultural Cooperation agreement in April enables Philippines and Argentina to present culture in its many facets, such as song, dance, and cuisine.
Our national film industries have a great tradition of experimental and avant garde filmmaking. A few weeks ago, we held the Philippine Cinema Week at the Cine Gaumont in Buenos Aires which featured the landmark Philippine and Argentine film co-production, Destino Pasional. This film represents only the beginning of future collaborations in cinema, television, art, and creative industries in general.
Gastronomy has also been a powerful connector. The Embassy published in 2021 the first Filipino cookbook in Spanish, written by Argentina-based chef Christina Sunae. The book contains recipes from all over the Philippines, and also serves as a travelogue that shines a light on diverse culinary traditions in our country.
We have also lately ventured into new frontiers of cooperation such as in science and innovation, and here, the Philippines looks to Argentina for its wealth of expertise in applying science and technology to advance our development agenda.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Space Cooperation between the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) and CONAE in April 2023 is one major step in this direction.
The official visit and scientific mission to Argentina last June by Dr. Renato Solidum, our Secretary for Science and Technology, provided the Philippines’ insights into Argentina’s thriving science and technology sector, in fields such as agriculture, biotechnology, innovation, and nuclear research and application.
I have earlier touched upon the active engagement between our two countries in the multilateral fora, arising from a shared sense of responsibility as regional and global actors.
The Philippines and Argentina are partners in championing human rights, justice and equality, towards upholding the dignity and well-being of our people.
As founding members of the United Nations, we are each invested in sustaining global peace through our troop contributions to UN peacekeeping operations and in safeguarding a rules-based global order anchored on the rule of law and inclusive and effective multilateralism.
We both contribute actively to preserving and strengthening a rules-based global order because we recognize that it guarantees peace and stability and that these are essential conditions for the flourishing of free and equal nations.
The ongoing close collaboration between the Philippines and Argentina, along with other likeminded states in the UN, to shape norms on responsible behavior in space and with respect to lethal autonomous weapons systems signify our sense of duty in keeping the UN governance structures up-to-date and in preventing the misuse and weaponization of new technologies. This is an extension of the long history of cooperation between our two countries in other diplomatic fora on security, arms control, and disarmament.
As important voices both in the UN and our respective region, Manila and Buenos Aires work together for a UN system that engenders the trust, inclusivity and solidarity needed for effective global action to address defining challenges of our time, particularly climate change.
Maritime governance is an area for common action. Generations of Filipino and Argentinian scholars and diplomats have left an indelible mark in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). To the Philippines, which is an archipelagic maritime nation, the UNCLOS provides the moorings for keeping our seas safe, marine ecosystems healthy, and strategic maritime waterways such as the South China Sea, secure, free and open.
Through ASEAN, the ten countries of Southeast Asia carry out our vision of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous region. Argentina’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia in 2018 acknowledges the primary role of ASEAN in the regional architecture. We look ahead to Argentina’s closer engagement with ASEAN in the years to come.
Through ASEAN and MERCOSUR, we each pursue broader economic integration and international peace and progress.
The Philippines takes pride in its role as a founding member of the ASEAN, a region now with more than 670 million people with a 3 Trillion US dollar economy, the 5th largest in the world. Despite being a culturally and linguistically diverse group, ASEAN is one of the most successful regional groupings in the world.
Nonetheless, ASEAN inhabits a region that is on one hand, an engine of global growth but on the other, a theater of geopolitical tensions and shifts that must be managed to preserve the peace and stability required for the uninterrupted unfolding of the promise of what many consider as the Asia Pacific century.
Amidst the landscape confronting the threat of global warming, security challenges in our region encompassing transnational threats, maritime disputes, and non-traditional security issues and the evolving complexions of the US-China rivalry, I believe that four realities hold:
First: ASEAN is at the core of the Indo Pacific region. It must hold its center as the lead actor in the regional security architecture.
Second: The dynamics in this region is such that its future is being shaped not by one or two powers, but by many actors, including ASEAN. Framing issues within the prism of power rivalries obscures realities on the ground and the distinct and legitimate interests of states such as the Philippines.
Third: A rules-based order should anchor regional peace and stability. Adherence by states to norms and international law operationalizes the essence of mutual respect and equity, preserves predictability in inter-state relations and enables the rule of law to prevail over any form of coercion, intimidation, or the use and threat of use of force in contravention of the principles of ASEAN and the United Nations Charter.
Fourth and last: Anxieties over geopolitical tensions should not distract the region from pursuing economic prosperity and development. Southeast Asia is currently ahead of the global curve in post-pandemic recovery and we must sustain this momentum.
In this context, the Philippines has consistently emphasized its commitment to maintaining the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea as a region of peace and stability and has called on other nations to do the same. Being at the heart of the seascape, we recognize not only the strategic significance of the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea: the sea is the lifeblood to millions of Filipinos. As a nation situated in the heart of this seascape, the Philippines understands that protecting its rights in its Exclusive Economic Zone and ensuring unimpeded access is vital for safeguarding the livelihoods of our fisherfolk and preserving the marine resources for future generations.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has unequivocally stated the country’s commitment to upholding our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea.
We pursue the peaceful resolution of the disputes in the South China Sea, in accordance with the 1982 UN Convention of the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea.
Multilateralism and a Rules-Based Global Order
Friends and colleagues,
More than any other point in recent history, these times call for the commitment of states to sustain the UN and multilateralism as a unifying force and a platform for inclusion and empowerment of nations and their citizens.
The Philippines will continue to collaborate with countries such as Argentina in reinforcing the values of rule of law, equality and mutual respect as the foundation for the kind of multilateralism that overcomes differences among nations, facilitates global action in response to challenges such as public health emergencies, humanitarian crises, and climate change, and addresses emerging international risks and threats.
The Philippines has consistently endeavored to make multilateralism more constructive and inclusive. Recognizing a diversity of perspectives, we advocate for the engagement of a broader array of actors on global issues, allowing for a greater sense of ownership and resilience.
Like Argentina, the Philippines has played a bridging and moderating role in many multilateral settings where polarities have threatened consensus. We will continue playing this role.
The first 75 years of our formal ties as each other’s oldest friend in our respective regions have brought the Argentine and Filipino people closer than we have ever been, notwithstanding the physical distance as well as the 32-hour flight.
My visit to Argentina has the been an opportunity to review how much we have been in the periphery of each other’s visions, trusting the solid foundation of our long friendship to sustain our political, economic and cultural ties through these decades, and into the future.
In the Philippines, we say Mabuhay, meaning Long Live!, as a toast of affirming and resounding goodwill.
I wish to end my remarks with roaring Mabuhay to this great friendship between the peoples of the Philippines and Argentina and to each of you present today, including the leaders and membership of CARI, for your role in sustaining our friendship and shaping its future.
Thank you for your kind attention. END