Marcos: Boosting PH-Australia ties crucial amid global volatility

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Thursday emphasized that it is crucial to envision the depth of the Philippines' strategic partnership with Australia amid this period of global volatility. 

In his address before the Australian Parliament, Marcos said the Philippines and Australia's interests have been intertwined as ''the security of Australia is bound with the security of the Philippines.''

''Geopolitical polarities and strategic competition threatened our hard-won peace even as we remain beset by unresolved inequities and inequalities within and amongst nations, powerful and transformative technologies can destabilize our political and social order, climate change threatens our very existence. These tectonic shifts are acutely felt in the Indo-Pacific,'' Marcos said. 

''It has become crucial for us now to envision the shape, the breadth, and the depth of our strategic partnership and how it must move forward as we weather the storms of global volatility,'' he added. 

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was a very great pleasure to welcome the Philippine President as this was the next step in the growing partnership between the two nations. 

Albanese said Australia and the Philippines shared a vision for having a peaceful, secure, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. 

He said he recalled Marcos' statement during his Manila visit that ''prosperity and progress depend on peace.'' —VAL, GMA Integrated News