Vietnam, Philippines foster defence ties

During the talks, both sides underscored the regular maintenance of exchanges and consultations, as well as offering mutual support for each other’s initiatives at multilateral forums.

They reviewed bilateral defence ties over the past few years, especially since the two defence ministries signed an agreement in 2010 and the two countries upgraded their relations to the level of strategic partnership in 2015. They also compared notes on the current situation in each country, as well as in the region and the world and consented to further foster bilateral defence ties in the future.

The defence ties between Vietnam and the Philippines have seen remarkable progress in a multitude of fields, particularly the exchange of all-level delegation, dialogue mechanisms, consultations, naval cooperation, training, information sharing, deputy-ministerial level defence policy dialogues, joint working groups on defence, and bilateral navy consultations.

The Philippine side pledged to support Vietnam in hosting military-defence conferences and activities when Vietnam takes over as chair of ASEAN in 2020.

Both sides also concurred to step up cooperation in key fields, such as exchanges among young officers, the defence industry, non-traditional security, air forces, and military medicine.

The Philippine National Defence delegation led by Secretary of National Defence Delfin Lorenzana pay tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his Mausoleum.

During the visit to Vietnam, the Philippine National Defence delegation worked with the Military Telecommunications Industry Group, paid floral tribute to the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs and President Ho Chi Minh at his Mausoleum, and visited a number of historical sites in Hanoi.