President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants the Philippines and Vietnam to “develop talks” with regard to the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) following the flagging of the Philippine Coast Guard of a Vietnamese vessel that recently entered Recto Bank, an area inside the country’s EEZ.

Marcos said that during his bilateral meeting with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Indonesia, he had asked Department of Foreign Affairs Sec. Enrique Manalo and his Vietnamese counterpart to find a way to avoid anything that could cause tension.

“We have to find a way. Sabi ko huwag ‘yung ganito na nag-a-ano tayo, mag-usap tayo nang mabuti. And that’s why I have asked our foreign ministers, ating Foreign Secretary and then the Foreign Minister of Vietnam to begin develop the talks so that we can have an agreement na hindi na siguro magkaproblema ng mga ganyang klase,” he told reporters when he was asked about the issue.

“Dahil hindi naman contentious – it’s something that we never had to worry about before, ngayon lang. Kaya’t kailangan habang maaga eh pag-usapan na natin at makahanap na tayo ng sarili nating usapan. Maliwag nga na hindi magkagulo, hindi magka-incident ng mga nangyayari sa atin ngayon,” he added.

PCG’s BRP Teresa Magbanua was deployed to the Kalayaan Island Group (Spratly Islands) to patrol the area when it encountered the Vietnamese-flagged fishing vessel off Recto Bank last Feb. 9.

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