PHL-Vietnam hold talks as both sides work towards final strategic partnership accord

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 20): PHL-Vietnam hold talks as both sides work towards final strategic partnership accord

The Philippines and Vietnam will hold talks in Hanoi on Wednesday with both sides hoping to finalize before yearend a strategic partnership agreement that will bolster their security and defense ties.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario will lead the Philippine delegation to Hanoi for the convening of the 8th Philippines-Viet Nam Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) on Oct. 21.

The JCBC, a Foreign Affairs statement said, "is an important mechanism between the two countries to discuss bilateral and regional issues, as well as plan for joint projects to enhance Philippines-Viet Nam cooperation in areas such as political, economic, security, defense, agriculture and maritime cooperation, among others."

The two countries are currently finalizing the draft of a strategic partnership agreement, which aims to strengthen the two Asian neighbors’ cooperation on several fronts, including defense and maritime security, amid their long-standing territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea.

One of the possible dates for the signing of a strategic partnership agreement - the Philippines' third after the United States and Japan - that Manila and Hanoi are looking at is at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Manila on Nov. 18 and 19, Filipino and Vietnamese diplomats said.

Del Rosario, who will co-chair the meeting together with his Vietnam counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, stated that “the meeting is an opportunity to discuss developments in our bilateral relations which have expanded significantly and strengthened and diversified through cooperative activities.”

With rapidly developing economies, Del Rosario said "the future of Philippines and Vietnam is closely linked and it is natural that the bilateral relations of both countries should strengthen and intensify."

Negotiations for a strategic partnership accord was agreed upon by President Benigno S. Aquino III and Vietnam President Tan Sang in 2014 during a meeting on the sidelines of the 26th APEC Summit.

The Philippines and Vietnam face a common security concern in the South China Sea: China's increasingly aggressive postures to assert territorial claims that Hanoi and Manila say have impinged on their fishing rights and obstructed efforts to explore undersea hydrocarbon resources well within their territorial waters recognized under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

A strategic partnership will upgrade Vietnam's relationship with the Philippines to a higher level, particularly in the field of security where both countries can intensify military staff exchanges, port visits, information-sharing and joint activities.

The agreement with Vietnam will likewise expand cooperation on economic, trade and investments, and tourism.

Philippine officials have said in the past that the agreement is not aimed against China, but admitted that a closer engagement with Vietnam is “important” in the face of the territorial disputes that also involve other claimants, such as Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

China insists "indisputable" ownership to nearly all the South China Sea - an assertion that has alarmed foreign governments, including the US, Japan, the European Union and G7 nations.

Manila has sought international arbitration before a Netherlands-based tribunal to try to denigrate China's massive claim. The court has yet to rule on the case.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=817204