TRUMP OUT! International People’s Counter-Summit in Manila Rejects Pax Silica, U.S. Wars and Plunder as Trump Arrives for ASEAN Summit

Link to the Press Conference livestream

As the Marcos administration rolls out the red carpet for US President Donald Trump and other world leaders at the 49th ASEAN Summit , international people’s movements are gathering in Manila for a counter-summit to advance people-to-people solidarity against imperialist wars, militarism, and plunder.

Delegates from across Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Latin America, Europe, West Asia, and North America are converging for SULONG! — a people-led counter-summit that brings together working-class and oppressed peoples in a common struggle against imperialist aggression and exploitation.

The conference stands with the Filipino people in rejecting Pax Silica and Trump’s visit to the Philippines, while linking their struggle with movements confronting the same forces of domination and exploitation in their own countries.

“Our gathering is not simply an opportunity to protest the visit of Trump. It is an opportunity to examine the larger system of US imperialist domination that has shaped our country for more than a century, and to understand how this domination is being reinforced and transformed under the present conditions of intensifying rivalry among big powers,” said Liza Maza, keynote speaker, President of Makabayan and International Coordinating Committee Member of the ILPS.  

While ASEAN leaders parade their rhetoric of regional cooperation and multilateralism, they turn a blind eye to the wars, exploitation, displacement, and plunder that continue to devastate communities across Southeast Asia and the world. With the Philippines hosting the 49th ASEAN Summit, Marcos is using the country’s regional leadership to rally support for US interests. In contrast, ASEAN is being used as a rubber stamp for the exploitation of people and plunder of resources across Southeast Asia.

“Our lands, our lives are on us. Our self-determination should be there, but the land is so occupied by the military. I came here to the Philippines, and I see exactly the same struggle. Let us fight together against US militarism and imperialism,” said Shinako Oyakawa, Co-Chairperson of the Association of Comprehensive Studies for Independence of the Lew Chewan Peoples (ACSILs). 

Sulong! is organized by the International League of Peoples’ Struggles (ILPS), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), and ILPS Philippines, together with allied people’s movements. The conference also sheds light on the stories of resistance and struggles of local communities around the Philippines—from Cordillera and Cagayan Valley to Negros and Mindanao.

Speakers during the Conference:

In line with the call of the ILPS for a Global Day of Action, people in over 23 cities from 14 countries will mobilize in solidarity with the Filipino people against Pax Silica and the broader imperialist war and plunder.

“Acts of resistance, big or small, must become part of our political culture. We have to unite across sectors, countries and regions to confront the US offensive and break a path to ultimate victory of the people for just and lasting peace,” said Azra Sayeed, Secretary-General of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS).

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FOR REFERENCE: Menchani Tilendo, Media Liaisons Officer

sulongmediateam@gmail.com

Pressenza Philippines