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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during a courtesy call at the Grand Hall of the Government Headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam on January 30, 2024. KJ Rosales, PPA Pool.
HANOI — The bilateral code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea between the Philippines and Vietnam is “pretty much there,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday, before concluding his 2-day state visit here.
During his visit to Vietnam’s Presidential Palace, Filipino and Vietnamese officials exchanged several deals including an agreement on incident prevention and management in the South China Sea.
“Yun ‘yung memorandum of agreement na ating ginawa between our 2 coast guards pati yung plano na magkakaroon ng joint cruises at exercises this year, 2024,” Marcos Jr. told reporters.
“Kung hindi natin matapos ang COC with ASEAN and China, gawin natin na bilateral muna with members of ASEAN para hindi natin kailangan alalahanin na magkakaproblema tayo sa Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, et cetera,” he said.
Discussions on a COC between China and ASEAN members have been ongoing for over a decade as parties fail to hurdle several deadlocks including Beijing’s push to ban joint military trainings in the waterway it illegally claims.
When asked how the new maritime cooperation deal between Manila and Hanoi can deter Beijing’s dangerous and illegal maneuvers in the South China Sea, Marcos Jr. said: “The agreement is between Vietnam and the Philippines. Kung ano ang gawin ng ibang bansa, hindi naman kasama yun.”
The Philippines and Vietnam — which having overlapping claims in the resource-rich Spratly Islands — have managed to address tensions peacefully over the years.
“We don’t have any confrontations with Vietnam despite the fact the we have conflict in our territorial waters, but it has never gone beyond diplomatic contacts, hindi napupunta sa gulo,” Marcos Jr. said.
Vietnam is the Philippines’ lone strategic partner in Southeast Asia , and the two countries have been making use of a hotline between high-ranking Filipino and Vietnamese officials to address maritime disputes over the years.
The two countries — which have both been vocal against China’s expansionist agenda — have also held various joint patrols and trainings in the South China Sea over the years.
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