Vietnamese Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang's visit to the Philippines further deepens and widens the range of relationship of both countries.
President Marcos made the statement during the defense minister's courtesy call at the Malacañan Palace on Friday, Aug. 30.
Marcos said the Vietnamese official's visit is "a very significant point in the history between our two countries."
”The Philippines and Vietnam have enjoyed good relations and we have continued to progress in those relationships, whereas before comprise only with our diplomatic connection,” Marcos said.
“We now talk about defense cooperation, security cooperation, maritime cooperation, and certainly, on the area of trade as well. Your visit, I think, will serve as further impetus, further push to increase that – the depth and the range of our relationship,” the President added.
Marcos also stated that the Philippines remain committed to peaceful resolutions and de-escalating tensions in the region, as he thanked Vietnam for supporting the Arbitral Award.
"We thank Vietnam for supporting the Arbitral Award. Together, we aremain committed to peaceful resolution, de-escalating tensions and ensuring that the rule of law and rules-based international order prevail in our region," the Chief Executive said in a Facebook post, following the courtesy call.
For his part, Phan extended his gratitude to Marcos and the Philippine government for the warm welcome accorded to him and his delegation when they arrived in Manila on Friday.
“And it's my great honor to convey the greetings and best wishes from our senior leaders from Vietnam, namely General Secretary and State President To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man,” Phan said.
"And from our side, we highly value and appreciate the State Visit to Vietnam back in January 2024 and that visit opened up new opportunities to further promote and innovate the strategic partnership between Vietnam and the Philippines in various areas that you just mentioned,” he added.
Phan also emphasized the "very good interactions and exchanges" between the Philippines and Viet Nam, especially the Navy-to-Navy discussions of the two nations.
The visit of General Phan is his first to the Philippines since his appointment as the Minister of National Defense on April 8, 2021.
Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Phan’s visit to the Philippines will further enhance the ties between the two nations with the signing of the defense cooperation agreement between Manila and Hanoi.
Teodoro said the agreements can help build the momentum for cooperation between the defense and military sectors of the two countries.