Philippines, Vietnam eye 'further elevating' strategic partnership

MANILA, Philippines, June 1 ------ The Philippines and Vietnam are "looking forward to elevating" their strategic partnership, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said signaling growing ties between the two countries that have long resisted Beijing's assertiveness in the South China Sea.

Manalo met with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son at the sidelines on the first day of the two-day ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to discuss upcoming high-level visits and ways to increase cooperation across defense and maritime security, among others. "We both looked forward to further elevating our Strategic Partnership and build on key accomplishments in defense and maritime cooperation, economic, and socio-cultural relations," Manalo said in an X post.

China's sweeping territorial claims over nearly the entire South China Sea have drawn resistance from both Manila and Hanoi, as Beijing's "nine-dash line" cuts into their exclusive economic zones and those of other Southeast Asian nations. Both the Philippines and Vietnam themselves have competing claims to the undersea continental shelf in the South China See, but both countries also earlier expressed readiness to hold talks to resolve the matter diplomatically.

In January 2024, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with the Vietnamese prime minister and the president and agreed to boost cooperation between their coast guards to prevent untoward incidents in the South China Sea. More recently, Philippine Army Chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido visited Vietnam in April, meeting with senior Vietnamese military leaders, including the Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, to explore deeper military cooperation.

Vietnam is the Philippines' only strategic partner in ASEAN, and one of only four countries overall, besides Japan, Australia, and South Korea.

Source: philstar.com