President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday held a bilateral meeting with Vietnamese President and Communist Party General Secretary Tô Lâm at the Malacañang, as both countries seek to further strengthen their regional alliances and security partnerships.
Marcos welcomed Tô Lâm to the Philippines on June 1, describing the two-day State Visit as “historic,” marking the first time a Vietnamese party leader has made a state visit to the country.
The visit also coincides with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Vietnam and a decade of their Strategic Partnership.
“At the bilateral meeting, it is expected that the discussions of the two leaders will reflect on the five decades of robust cooperation between the Philippines and Vietnam,” the Presidential Communications Office earlier said, adding that both sides aim to strengthen ties in trade and investment, food security, defense and maritime cooperation, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
Marcos said Vietnam remains the Philippines’ sole strategic partner in Southeast Asia, underscoring what he described as a vital relationship now entering its tenth year.
“Today, we elevate our ties to an enhanced strategic partnership, which will be defined by wider pathways for cooperation, stronger political and defense cooperation, and closer linkages between the Filipino and Vietnamese peoples,” Marcos said.
He also emphasized that both countries share common interests in maintaining peace, stability, and a rules-based regional order anchored on international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), amid growing geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainty.
Marcos noted that bilateral trade between the Philippines and Vietnam has exceeded $7 billion, calling it evidence of a strong and mutually beneficial economic partnership. He also cited cooperation in agriculture, regional and multilateral engagements, and defense initiatives as key drivers of the relationship.
President Tô Lâm, for his part, expressed confidence in the Philippines’ development trajectory under Marcos’ “excellent leadership,” including its goal of becoming an upper-middle-income economy by 2028 and achieving the long-term vision under Ambisyon Natin 2040.
“The Philippines is an important partner of Vietnam in the region, and both countries share similar strategic visions and interests and a strong commitment towards peace, stability, prosperity, and the rule of law,” Tô Lâm said.
He added that Vietnam seeks to further elevate the partnership to a “greater height” with deeper, more comprehensive, and effective cooperation.
“We always wish to work closely with the Philippines to further elevate our strategic partnership to a greater height with ever-increasing substance, comprehensiveness, and effectiveness,” he said.
Although the both coontries have overlapping claims in parts of the South China Sea, bilateral disputes between the two countries have remained limited. Their navies have even conducted goodwill activities, including sports exchanges in the Spratly Islands, reflecting generally warm ties.
Both countries, however, continue to face maritime tensions with China, which asserts expansive claims over most of the South China Sea.
In recent years, Philippine and Vietnamese forces have separately engaged in standoffs with Chinese vessels, while their coast guards conducted their first joint exercises in 2024.
