MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Vietnam vowed to bolster their strategic partnership and explore "new areas of cooperation" on Tuesday, October 8, marking a future step up in diplomatic ties amid China's growing assertiveness in the region.
During their talks at the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh "reaffirmed their commitment" to boost the strategic partnership between both nations, whose diplomatic ties have been at an all-time high.
Talks between the Philippines and Vietnam two years ago are now "bearing fruit," the Presidential Communication Office said.
This year, the Philippines and Vietnam have pursued closer maritime cooperation through two new deals and are set to boost their defense ties with a landmark pact expected by the end of the year.
In early August, both nations held their first joint coast guard training exercises near Manila Bay — the first between two Southeast Asian countries that are also co-claimants in the disputed South China Sea.
Vietnam is only one of four countries that the Philippines is strategic partners with, besides Japan, Australia, and just this week, South Korea.
Marcos said his meeting with the Vietnamese prime minister comes after both countries have made a "good deal of progress since our very first discussion and some of the engagements between our two countries."
“And it gives us also the opportunity to explore new areas of cooperation and of partnership,” Marcos told the Vietnamese leader, according to a news release.
The Vietnamese leader also expressed his "unwavering commitment to the Philippines."
“I want to reaffirm that we always support to the strategic partnership with the Philippines. I’m glad to note that the discussions that we began two years ago have been implemented effectively,” the Vietnamese prime minister said.
The bilateral meeting between Marcos and the Vietnamese leader comes just days after both countries' boats had maritime altercations with Chinese vessels in two separate incidents in the South China Sea.
On October 2, Vietnam accused China attacking Vietnamese fishing boats near a disputed island in the South China Sea Less than a week after that, on Tuesday, October 8, the Philippines said Chinese Coast Guard vessels had shadowed and fired water cannons at fisheries boats near Scarborough Shoal (Bajo de Masinloc).
The Philippines stood behind Vietnam over the alleged assault on Vietnamese fishers and condemned China's actions in the disputed waters, which it described as "violent and illegal."
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Beijing has been less vocal against Vietnam's attempts to advance its claims in the South China Sea compared to its sharp rebukes of the Philippines' presence in the disputed waters.
Meanwhile, unlike the Philippines, Vietnam maintains generally strong party-to-party relations with China and insists it remains nonaligned while pursuing closer ties with the United States.
During Marcos' two-day visit to Vietnam in January, both countries' leaders agreed to boost cooperation between their coast guards to prevent untoward incidents in the South China Sea.
Reacting to the development, China in January rebuked the Philippines and Vietnam through its state-run Global Times newspaper for "trying to form a small clique" and "complicate" the situation in the region
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, dismissing rival claims of several Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
Marcos arrived in Laos on Tuesday to attend the ASEAN summit from October 8 to 11zodiacbet, where he is expected to bring up the country's challenges in the West Philippine Sea.