ASEAN Summit: Prabowo Emphasises the Importance of Regional Food Security

That was conveyed by Prabowo during the plenary session of the 48th ASEAN Summit held at the Mactan Expo in Cebu, Philippines, on Friday (8/5/2026). “We must remember that our region has strategic trade routes passing through our waters, and we must be careful to avoid disruptions in our own territory,” Prabowo stated, as quoted by the Presidential Press Bureau. Prabowo reminded of the threat of extreme El Niño, which has been warned about by various international organisations and could impact regional food security. In such conditions, Prabowo assessed that strengthening ASEAN’s food security becomes increasingly urgent. “We have been warned by international organisations about the risk of a very extreme El Niño looming ahead of us. In this regard, food security becomes even more pressing,” he said. According to Prabowo, food challenges cannot be handled by individual countries alone, thus requiring stronger cooperation and coordination at the regional level. Prabowo also encouraged strengthening information exchange, food diversification, agricultural technology development, and optimisation of ASEAN’s regional food reserves. “This is not a challenge that can be handled by one country alone. ASEAN must act together. This also requires simplification of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve. We must advance our Local-Based Food Reserve,” Prabowo stated. Furthermore, Prabowo emphasised that food security requires leadership and active government intervention. The Indonesian government, continued Prabowo, is committed to taking full responsibility in maintaining national food sovereignty to safeguard public welfare and national stability. “For us, this is the primary responsibility of the government, and the Indonesian government is determined to bear full responsibility and full sovereignty over this vital sector. Without food, essentially there is no society. Without food, there is no independence. Without food, there is no peace,” he said.