President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. on Thursday renewed his calls on the importance of maritime cooperation between the Philippines and Vietnam, saying that the agreement “is going to be a very big step” between the countries.
In a statement on Thursday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the outgoing Vietnam Ambassador to the Philippines paid a farewell call to the President on Thursday, wherein they discussed the signing of the maritime agreement.
“Now that we are going to start discussions on the agreement that we have between the Philippines and Vietnam, I think it is a very, very important – it will be a very, very important part of our relationship and it will bring an element of stability to the problems that we are seeing now in the South China Sea,” Marcos said.
For his part, Chung said he wanted to stay longer to build up stronger and closer relations with the Philippine government as he emphasized that the country considered Vietnam as one of its strategic partners.
Vietnam President Vo Van Thuong also extended his gratitude to Marcos and the Philippine government for working closely with them, especially on their common interest in the West Philippine Sea and the prevention of further incidents in the Philippine waters.
“And President, Vietnam, we have very respect for your thought that you are a friend to all, none enemy,” Chung told President Marcos.
The President likewise affirmed that the Philippines and Vietnam have a good solid agreement that is beneficial for both counties, making it easier for them to face the “common challenges” “when it comes to territorial disputes in the South China Sea.”
“I really believe that we have to make these bilateral agreements. I think you will not be surprised and I think I’m not giving away any confidence that we will like to have these bilateral agreements as well with the other countries within ASEAN,” President Marcos said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
