To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of diplomatic ties between Australia and the Philippines this year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has recorded a video message for Philippine-Australia Friendship Day on May 22. The Prime Minister emphasises the great shared history of our free, democratic and sovereign nations, and our wide ranging links in defence, trade, education, security and development. He acknowledges our shared values of mateship and bayanihan, and the hard work over the past 75 years of both our countries to secure an inclusive, stable and prosperous region. Australia looks forward to working with the Philippines to uphold these values.
Transcript
Mabuhay! [muh-BOO-hai]
Greetings to our friends and neighbours in the Philippines, as we celebrate 75 years of our diplomatic relations.
It was your great Filipino Patriot Jose Rizal who one said “he who does not know how to look back at where we have come from, will never get to his destination.”
Today our two democratic, free and sovereign nations can look back on a great shared history.
Our countries forged a bond more than 75 years ago, during the great conflict of the Second World War.
On the beaches at Leyte …
… in the jungles at Mindanao
… and the seas of Lingayen Gulf.(1)
It was there that our bayanihan [buy-uh-nee-hun] — or mateship, as we say in Australia — was born.
We stood together against the militarism and the cruelties of those terrible times.
Together we won a peace, together we won a war.
Bayanihan is the source of our enduring respect and cooperation.
Our bilateral relationship is far-reaching.
In trade.
Defence cooperation.
Education.
Counterterrorism, development.
And the global challenges we face together.
Our people-to-people links are strong and enduring — as they should be for countries that share a home: our Indo-Pacific.
We also share a vision of what our home should be.
Open.
Inclusive.
Stable and prosperous.
Free.
That is what we have worked for over the last 75 years.
And it is what we will continue to work for — together — over the next 75.
Mabuhay! [muh-BOO-hai]