Remarks of Prof. Rapahel Lotilla, Chairman of APPFI's Board of Trustees, during the Inaugural Symposium on Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance last November 2020 hosted by the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in Hainan, China.
Presented by Hon. Delfin Lorenzana, Secretary of the Department of National Defense, during the "Philippines-Australia Dialogue: Security Dimensions of Comprehensive Partnership" held on June 25-26, 2018 at Astoria Plaza Pasig City.
Presented by Johny Chotrani, Chairman of the ASEAN-India Business Council, during the ASEAN-India Forum held on November 21, 2017 at the Eagle Broadcasting Corporation, Quezon City.
Photo courtesy of Dr. Francisco Magno taken during the PPSA Distinguished Leadership Lecture, 1 March 2017
I was fortunate to have done my M.A. and Ph.D. studies in Washington D.C. and my doctoral dissertation research in the United Nations and in Southeast Asia. It was a privilege for me to have witnessed upclose the dynamics of domestic and international politics in my host countries during the escalation of the Vietnam War and the height of the anti-war movement in the 1960s, triggered by the assassination of the leading anti-war advocates, Rev. Martin Luther King and Senator Robert Kennedy.
My exposure to the realities of international politics deepened my appreciation of ideologies and alternative political and social systems. It strengthened my resolve to devote my career in the service of peace promotion.