MANILA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday called on members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN)and its dialogue partners including China, Japan and the United States to help strengthen the Southeast Asian community.
Duterte made the appeal during the formal launching of the Philippine chairmanship of ASEAN in Davao City this afternoon. Diplomats and officials flew to Duterte's home city to attend the event.
As chair of the ASEAN meetings, Duterte said the Philippines "will be firm in its advocacy to promote cooperation between and among ASEAN neighbors and engage our dialogue partners to be more dynamic and vibrant stakeholders in the continued development of our region."
He said priorities of this year's meeting would be to ensure the well-being of the peoples in ASEAN and ensure peace and stability in the region.
"We will place our peoples at the core, work for regional peace and stability, pursue maritime security and cooperation, advance inclusive, innovation-led growth, strengthen ASEAN resiliency and promote ASEAN as a model of regionalism and as a global player," Duterte said.
"This is a tremendous task but one that is not unachievable."
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