President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. acknowledged that pursuing stronger economic relations with Russia could draw criticism due to Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine, but he maintained that the Philippines will avoid any partnerships that could be seen as supporting armed conflict.
Speaking with journalists following the ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit—which he co-chaired alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin—Marcos Jr. noted that balancing these ties is a highly complex challenge for Manila and its partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“Certainly, that’s a concern,” Marcos said.
“As I’ve always said, the Philippines is one of the, if not the greatest sponsor, supporter for peace. And not only in our region, but everywhere else,” he said.
“Certainly, that is not something that we do not like to be accused of. And would not like to be part of. We will certainly not want to be part of any system that furthers conflict anywhere in the world,” he added.
The President classified the situation as one of the many “very nuanced decisions” that regional leaders must carefully manage moving forward.
However, Marcos Jr. emphasized that the current trade volume between the Philippines and Russia is minimal and cannot logically be viewed as a source of funding for the war.
According to the President, bilateral trade stands at approximately $5 billion, while Russia’s overall trade with the ASEAN bloc sits near $20 billion.
“In terms of the volume of trade, for example, that we have to get from Russia, it comprises such a small part of their general revenue generation that it clearly cannot be said that it is funding conflict anywhere,” he noted.
“We will just have to be careful to make sure that we are not inadvertently becoming part of a system that is encouraging war in any way,” he added.
Marcos Jr. also explained that the Philippines has moved past the Cold War mindset which viewed international politics through a rigid, two-sided lens. Decades ago, Manila strictly aligned with the United States while opposing the Soviet Union, leading to historically low engagement with Moscow.
“The level of trade and engagement in the traditional areas is still quite low because, again, of our continued attachment perhaps to the old way of doing business,” he said.
“We have shed that kind of idea. And we look at the world in a much more, much different way than we did in 1976 when we first signed our agreement, our diplomatic agreement with the then Soviet Union. And so we are adjusting that,” he added.
The President concluded by stating that shifting global dynamics require the Philippines to adapt to a rising multipolar world.
He emphasized that navigating an environment with multiple global powers offers more diplomatic and economic opportunities than the old international order.
“The traditional power structures and the traditional powers are no longer the powers that exist when, for example, the United Nations was formed right after the war. So we, the Philippines, is just responding, adjusting to the new reality,” he said.
“Very early on, I think you will remember, I already said that the Philippines no longer subscribes to a bipolar world where you have to choose one side over the other,” the President said.
“And during this summit, there was a lot of talk about multipolarity, the multipolar world that we now have to deal with, which may be a bit more complex but it also provides more opportunities than we had before,” Marcos said.