THE Philippines reaffirmed its commitment to deeper engagement with Pacific Island nations, calling for stronger regional cooperation on climate resilience, development, maritime governance, and other shared challenges at the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting (55PIFLM) in Koror, Palau.
The Philippine delegation, led by Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Leo Herrera-Lim as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s special envoy, highlighted the Philippines’ “Pacific affinity and kinship” and pushed for expanded cooperation through the Philippines-Pacific Initiative launched by Marcos in 2024.
Speaking during the Leaders Dialogue with Forum Dialogue Partners, Herrera-Lim said the Philippines and Pacific island states face common challenges as archipelagic nations, including climate change, geographic isolation, infrastructure gaps and shifts in development financing.
“These realities demand that we rethink how we mobilize partnerships to sustain development gains and build unbreakable resilience into our communities,” Herrera-Lim said.
He said the Philippines-Pacific Initiative would provide practical cooperation in health, food security, capacity building and human capital development, disaster preparedness and climate action, environmental protection, and energy, maritime and ocean governance.
The Philippines also expressed readiness to expand technical and institutional assistance in health care, education and the creative economy, and fisheries, agriculture, water and sanitation, and other resource-management areas.
Maritime and ocean governance emerged as a key area for closer cooperation, with Manila emphasizing its shared interests with Pacific island states in protecting marine ecosystems, responding to sea-level rise and addressing the links between climate change and ocean health.
Herrera-Lim also underscored the importance of adherence to international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), in addressing maritime concerns.
President Marcos designated Herrera-Lim to represent the Philippines at the forum, which brought together leaders from 18 Pacific nations and provided a venue for Pacific island countries to engage with Forum Dialogue Partners, including the Philippines.
On the sidelines, Herrera-Lim met with Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa to discuss strengthening the Philippines’ partnership with the region and expanding PIF engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
The Philippines has been a PIF Dialogue Partner since 1999 and maintains resident embassies in Port Moresby, Suva, Canberra and Wellington. Its embassy in Tokyo has concurrent jurisdiction over Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.
