Joint Press Statement of President of the Republic of Indonesia and President of the Philippines, at Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java Province, September 5, 2022
President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko Widodo)
Your Excellency President Marcos and the First Lady,
It is an honor for Indonesia to receive the first state visit from President Marcos and the delegates. We have just discussed about the strengthening of bilateral cooperation on various sectors, regional cooperation in the context of ASEAN.
On bilateral cooperation, I would like to deliver several points of note. First, we push for a significant increase in trade volume. Compared to last year, trade between Indonesia and the Philippines has recorded an increase of around 50 percent. Indonesia, in particular, also encouraged an increase in export of food and beverages, pharmaceutical products, coconut products, and seaweed.
I invite the Philippines to further develop trade potentials of both countries and improve connectivity at the borders. I proposed the revitalization of the Bitung-Davao RoRo Ship route and opening of the Manado-Davao flight route.
Second is the enhancement of partnership in infrastructure and strategic industries. A number of Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have participated in construction projects in the Philippines. For instance, the construction of two Landing Platform Docks by state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL and development of railway signal system in Manila by PT LEN Industri. I hope the plan to purchase NC212i aircraft from PT Dirgantara Indonesia can be realized. In the future, I look forward to seeing more opportunity for Indonesian SOEs and private companies to support development in the Philippines.
Third, the strengthening of cooperation at border areas. We have agreed to review two border security agreements, namely Revised Border Crossing Agreement and Border Patrol Agreement. We also committed to speed up deliberation on delimitation of continental shelf according to the UNCLOS 1982.
Fourth, defense and security sectors. We encourage the enhancement of cooperation on water safety and security at border areas. I highly appreciate the signing of Agreement on Cooperative Activities in the Field of Defense and Security. I am delighted that we have renewed the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA) between Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia considering the urgency in securing water area from the threat of hostage-taking and kidnapping.
Fifth, we also talked over regional cooperation to strengthen ASEAN and the implementation of ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. I stressed on the importance to strengthen the centrality and unity of ASEAN. Indonesia will continue to ensure the role of ASEAN as a locomotive for stability, peace, and prosperity in the region. ASEAN must also be able to overcome future various challenges and affirm respect for the ASEAN Charter.
To strengthen ASEAN centrality, I emphasize the importance of implementing ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific through concrete and inclusive cooperation. In this regard, Indonesia will host Indo-Pacific Infrastructure Forum next year. I appreciated the Philippines’ commitment to fully support Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship of 2023.
Next, I invite President Marcos to deliver his statement. The floor is yours.
I thank you.
President of the Philippines (Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr.)
Thank you very much, President Widodo and Madam First Lady and members of the Ministers who are here today.
As is proper for the time that we face today, our discussions began as a recognition of the long relationship that the Philippines and Indonesia had. So long that in two years’ time we are celebrating the 75th year of our diplomatic relations, although our relations go much further than that because we consider Indonesia is not only a neighbour, not only a friend, but kin. And for that and on that basis, we spoke about the difficulties that we, as members of ASEAN, face after the pandemic, and this is why trade is such an important part of what we spoke and what we have agreed upon in today’s discussions.
We continue to thank Indonesia for the assistances and their involvement in the infrastructure programs of my predecessor, President Duterte, and their continuing commitment, not only to go on with these programs, but to increase the volume and the closeness between our two countries.
We also spoke at length about the role that we believe ASEAN should play, while we face the difficulties in this very volatile time in geopolitics, not only in our region but also in the rest of the world. And we agreed that ASEAN is going to be the lead agent in the changes that we would like to see in continuing to bring peace to our countries. And again, the assistances that we have received from Indonesia have been a very important part of that.
We continue to work on growing our relationship to making it stronger. So much so, that in actual fact our discussions progress so rapidly that we, the President and I, have agreed to organize task forces already to meet and discuss, even at the technical level, no longer the political or the diplomatic level, but at the technical level so as to be able to take a full advantage of the opportunities that we feel that are available to us. And that we will need to exploit to succeed in the near future.
I express my belief to President Widodo that this partnership between Indonesia and the Philippines, but this partnership that we make with all our partners and allies and friends around the world will be of critical importance, so that we remain stable as we grow out of the pandemic economy, and we work together and help each other to develop regional peace and regional development.
And for that, I thank once again the President for his very kind invitation. I believe that we have made a proper choice in coming to Jakarta as my first state visit as President of the Philippines. And I believe that this is only the beginning of many more things to come between Indonesia and the Philippines.
Once again, I thank the President and Madam First Lady. I also thank the Indonesian people for their openness and their warmth as they welcome us since we have arrived here.
(RAS/MMB)