HANOI — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. returned to the Philippines early Wednesday from his two-day state visit to Vietnam, calling the trip “very productive.”

The President landed at the Villamor Airbase past 3 a.m.

The Philippines and Vietnam have “already achieved very much in this very short time” after the two countries managed to signed agreements on maritime cooperation, rice trade, and the prevention and management of incidents in the South China Sea, Marcos Jr. said in a press conference hours before his return flight to Manila.

“Considering that we were here for such a short time, we covered many, many subjects which provides an opening,” he said.

“This has been the product of a great deal of discussion and hard work on both sides,” he said.

Talks between the two Southeast Asian countries began on the sidelines of international summits like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summits, the Philippine President said.

“Ang puno’t dulo nitong lahat ay ang security and defense na usapan ng Vietnam at ng Pilipinas para hindi mangyayari sa atin kagaya nang nangyayari sa ibang bansa sa West Philippine Sea,” he said.

The Philippines and Vietnam — which have overlapping claims in the Spratly Islands — have inked an agreement that would help them peacefully manage incidents in those waters.

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Marcos Jr. said the two countries would also hold joint trainings in the South China Sea this year.

On the economic front, the two Southeast Asian neighbors have also agreed to collaborate despite being deemed as competitiors, the President said.

“Ang Vietnam at ang Pilipinas in terms of the economy, we are very similar,” he said.

“Pero ang sinasabi namin, ‘Let us compete but let us also cooperate at every possible chance that we have,’” he said.

“Naunawaan naman nila and they agreed that that is the way forward,” he added.

During his stay in Hanoi, Marcos Jr. met with several Vietnamese business executives, including representatives of the VinGroup, Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate.

The Vietnamese company hopes to bring in battery production technology and electric vehicles in the Philippines, he said.

“Marami tayong puwedeng idevelop na potential,” he said, noting that the Philippines hopes to increase bilateral trade with Vietnam to $10 billion in the coming years.

As of 2022, bilateral trade between the 2 countries was pegged at $6.8 billion, according to data from the Philippine government.

Malacañang has yet to announce how much in investment pledges the President secured from Vietnam.