28th Parliamentary Intelligence -Security Forum – Shining A Light: Countering Illegal, Coercive, Aggresive, and Deceptive Actions in the South China Sea

Hon. Eric Swalwell expressed his sincere gratitude to Congressman Pittinger and Speaker Romualdez for hosting the Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum. He noted that the effort of the leadership to foster global cooperation in security and economic resilience is invaluable and expressed appreciation for bringing together distinguished experts to provide crucial insights on security and economic challenges.

He observed that the world faces new challenges that threaten freedom, peace, and stability, which requires cooperation between nations fostered by forums such as the PI-SF to ensure that partnerships remain intact. He also emphasized the need to strengthen security, enhance technological cooperation, and build on economic ties between partner nations, as critical materials, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and economic interdependencies are now a core challenge of national security policies.

Hon. Swalwell reiterated that the U.S. and the Philippines are allies in forging new partnership across the Asia-Pacific to untangle nations’ dependence on China. He referred to the success of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) as an example, where investing in technology and innovation brought prosperity and security to Taiwan—making it an indispensable fixture on the global economy, a partner of geopolitical importance to the U.S., and also a central player in the modern digital economy.

Finally, Congressman Swalwell stated that he recognized the Philippines as an irreplaceable partner in the defense of freedom and democracy that a strong US-Philippines relationship was key to the effort.