Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the State banquet hosted by the Sultan and Yang di Pertuan of Negara Brunei Darussalam, Istana Nurul Iman, Bandar Seri Begawan his State visit to Brunei Darussalam

[Released on August 6, 1994]

A time of opportunity
for neighbors

PHILIPPINE OBSERVERS have commented that our visit to your country is the last of my State visits to ASEAN countries. This is only true insofar as I am making my official State visit to Brunei Darussalam today.

But in fact, as Your Majesty will remember, the very first country I visited after my installation as President of the Philippines was Brunei Darussalam—and that was when I came in October 1992 to attend the silver anniversary of Your Majesty’s ascension to the throne.

I point this out to underscore a vital factor about the nature of ASEAN today—which is the sense of community we feel for one another.

Concert of purpose and vision

We measure kinship among our nations—neither in terms of size and population, nor in terms of wealth and proximity. Our measure is something deeper—the values of community and cooperation we all embrace, and the vision of a unified Southeast Asia we all entertain.

We treasure contact with each other because of the kindred feeling we have nurtured across the centuries and the value we attach today to each other’s friendship. And this is the way it is between us Filipinos and all the peoples of ASEAN.

Among us, there is a concert of purpose and vision for our region that did not exist until our leaders collectively forged it during this decade.

And we know why we are standing together now, which we did not do before. This is a time of opportunity for our peoples and our countries.

Our economies are not just on the move today; they are developing faster than they ever did before. We also know that we can build and ensure a better future—if we build it together.

The ASEAN countries have begun to carry out the process of establishing the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). To us, AFTA embodies the hopes of all for prosperity through regional cooperation.

Building zones of growth

In the same way, our countries have marked out and started building zones of growth in areas where our territories meet and intersect. In this spirit, our East ASEAN Growth Area (EAGA) is rising, with both the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam actively involved.

As important, we look together to the peace and stability that must underpin our labors if sustained progress and development are to be achieved.

Less than a month ago, in Bangkok, we in ASEAN launched the ASEAN Regional Forum, under which we propose to examine questions of security and peace in our region in the light of the end of the Cold War.

We invited other nations of East Asia and the Pacific to share with us their views and perceptions of the security situation in our region and work out measures to build confidence together, reduce tensions in the region, resolve conflicts and—ultimately—prevent conflict itself.

As we approach the twenty-first century, the new realities in our region give rise to the necessity for a broader vision of Southeast Asian solidarity. That vision encompasses all the ten Southeast Asian nations in solidarity, in one community. We look forward to the day when all of Southeast Asia will become part of the ASEAN family, formally as well as in spirit.

Relations with Brunei

Your Majesty, as there is a collective dimension to our relationship, there is also its indispensable bilateral side.

I have come here, Your Majesty, to express to you my official and personal appreciation for all that you have done and are doing to strengthen friendship between our peoples and governments.

Your support of initiatives and programs for the development of both our countries has been unfailingly consistent and generous. As we enhance trade and economic cooperation between us, particularly through the East ASEAN Growth Area, Brunei’s participation is invaluable.

Today, we are beginning to see the fruits of Philippine-Bruneian cooperation in many ventures. And these are only the beginning.

In the same spirit, I want to express our people’s gratitude to Your Majesty for the business and employment opportunities that your country has provided for thousands of Filipinos working in Brunei Darussalam.

The gains from these arrangements for our two countries are incalculable. They spell benefits not only in economic terms but also in terms of social concerns and people-to-people friendship, on which our relations are truly founded.

The Philippine experience

Your Majesty, when I visited your capital two years ago, I knew that we came under some cloud of doubt as to what the Philippines—chronically in crisis and decline-could possibly contribute to a relationship with a neighbor and to ASEAN as a whole.

Coming back today, I can say that the Philippines and the Filipino people are now in a much better position to perform and to contribute substantially to the building of a fruitful bilateral relationship and a greater ASEAN community.

Over these past two years of reform and rebuilding, we have made significant gains in recharging our national life. National unity and political stability have been strengthened. Our economy is on the road to sustained and sustainable growth, as reform policies have been put in place and pursued. We have regained the confidence of the international community and acquired greater self-confidence as a nation. And we continue to adopt and implement structural reforms that ultimately and soon will make us more competitive in the world.

Peace, stability and progress

Upon this foundation of reform and achievement, I venture to reiterate to Your Majesty our desire to raise, on this visit, the level of our bilateral economic cooperation today. Let us expand our trade, investment and tourism exchanges and join together in taking advantage of opportunities that rise in the dynamic region of which we both are a part.

Members of our governments and business communities, starting today, can more effectively work out concrete ways whereby this can be done.

If there is one enduring theme about our two countries and about ASEAN today, it is that we are proving the doubters wrong. We are proving that we can make social and economic development happen in our part of the world. And we are proving that the time is foreseeable when progress in Southeast Asia will match the great achievements of the Western world.

In the current issue of Asiaweek, there is an interesting report about the rise of the so-called Malay world, of which we Filipinos and Bruneians are deemed to be a part. There is a lively debate whether there is such a thing as a Malay race to which we and our neighbors belong. But there is no debate that we are a region “growing more confident in ourselves and proud of our achievements.”

Brunei Darussalam and the Philippines from part of the pillar of this new Southeast Asian political, economic and social structure—a modern-day reality that ASEAN has held in erecting.

It is on the Southeast Asian community where both the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam must anchor their peoples-welfare and security, and propel their development and prosperity. It is here where we can attain a regime of enduring peace, stability and progress for the peoples of our region, and contribute to harmony and understanding in the world.