MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will address hundreds of defense and security experts from over 40 nations on Friday evening, May 31, at the Shangri-La Dialogue, dubbed as Asia’s top defense forum, in Singapore.

He becomes the first Philippine president to deliver the keynote speech of the summit since it was first held in 2002.

The significance of the invitation is not lost on Marcos, who said that “it is a recognition that there are challenges that are facing the Philippines.”

Marcos has vowed to put front and center in his speech Manila’s position on the West Philippine Sea dispute, which has taken a turn for the worse in the past years as China ramps up its intimidation tactics against Philippine vessels traversing the crucial waterway.

The Philippine president joins an exclusive list of foreign leaders who have been assigned the prestigious job at the Shangri-La Dialogue: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, former Singaporean prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The event, led by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, is now on its 21st edition, attended by top defense officials and military leaders from various nations annually, except in 2021, when the event was canceled due to the threat of COVID-19.

Bookmark and refresh this page for the livestream of his speech between 7 pm and 9 pm on Friday, May 31. – Rappler.com