SINGAPORE: The Philippines has told major global powers that Southeast Asia was not a “proxy” for superpower rivalries, as Washington and Beijing compete for influence in the region.
Conflicting claims over the South China Sea, which straddles vital commercial shipping lanes and is believed to sit atop vast natural gas deposits, have placed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the center of the struggle for regional influence among countries such as the US and China.
Philippine Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana told a security forum in Singapore it was time for outsiders to let ASEAN, currently chaired by Manila, determine its own course.
“As host... we will have to remind our friends, firmly if necessary, not to use ASEAN as a proxy for their rivalry,” Lorenzana said at the Fullerton Forum.
“We will reaffirm the unity and solidarity of ASEAN amidst this emerging superpower competition. We will also work for the finalization of a binding code of conduct for the South China Sea,” he added.
Four ASEAN members — Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam — along with China and Taiwan have laid partial or entire claims to the sea, which security analysts say is a potential flashpoint for conflict.
China, which claims almost the entire sea based on historical rights, angered other claimants when it built artificial islands in a bid to bolster its ownership bid.
While not a claimant, Washington says it has strategic interests in keeping the sea lanes open and criticized China for its island-building activity.
Previous ASEAN meetings have been marred by disunity on how to deal with Beijing over the South China Sea.
An arbitration court in The Hague last year said in a landmark ruling that China’s claims had no legal basis.
However, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has taken a more conciliatory approach to China, leading to a warming in bilateral ties as he steers Manila away from the US, its long-time defense treaty partner.
Lorenzana said Monday that talks with China about ownership are likely to be shelved for the time being and that both countries would “just manage the dispute for the benefit of everybody.”
Southeast Asia not a ‘proxy’ for superpower rivalry, warns Philippines
Southeast Asia not a ‘proxy’ for superpower rivalry, warns Philippines
Bangladesh sends record 750,000 workers to Saudi Arabia in 2025
- Latest data shows 16% surge of Bangladeshis going to the Kingdom compared to 2024
- Bangladesh authorities are working on sending more skilled workers to Saudi Arabia
DHAKA: Bangladesh sent over 750,000 workers to Saudi Arabia in 2025, marking the highest overseas deployment to a single country on record, its labor bureau said on Friday.
Around 3.5 million Bangladeshis live and work in Saudi Arabia, sending home more than $5 billion every year. They have been joining the Saudi labor market since the 1970s and are the largest expatriate group in the Kingdom.
Last year, Saudi Arabia retained its spot as the top destination for Bangladeshi workers, with more than two-thirds of over 1.1 million who went abroad in 2025 choosing the Kingdom.
“More than 750,000 Bangladeshi migrants went to Saudi Arabia last year,” Ashraf Hossain, additional director-general at the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, told Arab News.
“So far, it’s the highest number for Bangladesh, in terms of sending migrants to Saudi Arabia or any other particular country in a single year.”
The latest data also showed a 16 percent increase from 2024, when about 628,000 went to the Kingdom for work, adding to the largest diaspora community outside Bangladesh.
Authorities have focused on sending more skilled workers to Saudi Arabia in recent years, after the Kingdom launched in 2023 its Skill Verification Program in Bangladesh, which aims to advance the professional competence of employees in the Saudi labor market.
Bangladesh has also increased the number of certification centers, allowing more candidates to be verified by Saudi authorities.
“Our focus is now on increasing safe, skilled and regular migration. Skilled manpower export to Saudi Arabia has increased in the last year … more than one-third of the migrants who went to Saudi Arabia did so under the Skill Verification Program by the Saudi agency Takamol,” Hossain said.
“Just three to four months ago, we had only been to certify 1,000 skilled workers per month. But now, we can conduct tests with 28 (Saudi-approved) centers across the country, which can certify around 60,000 skilled workforces (monthly) for the Kingdom’s labor market.”
On Thursday, the BMET began to provide training in mining, as Bangladesh aims to also start sending skilled workers for the sector in Saudi Arabia.
“There are huge demands for skilled mining workers in Saudi Arabia as it’s an oil-rich country,” Hossain said.
“We are … trying to produce truly skilled workers for the Saudi labor market.”
In October, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh signed a new employment agreement, which enhances worker protection, wage payments, as well as welfare and health services.
It also opens more opportunities in construction and major Vision 2030 projects, which may create up to 300,000 new jobs for Bangladeshi workers in 2026.
