Vietnam, Philippines boost defense ties

The dialogue was co-chaired by Deputy Minister of National Defence Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien and Philippine Undersecretary of National Defense Irineo C. Espino.

Reviewing bilateral ties, General Chien praised the substantive and comprehensive cooperation between defense units of the two countries.

He mentioned progress in delegation exchanges at all levels, particularly high-level visits, as well as the effectiveness of dialogue and consultation mechanisms.

Training cooperation, expertise sharing, defense industry collaboration, and military medicine were noted as key areas of advancement.

The two sides have also supported each other at multilateral forums and international events, he said.

Naval and coast guard vessel visits were organized in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-Philippines Strategic Partnership.

Vietnam also actively participated in humanitarian support for communities affected by the October earthquake in the Philippines, demonstrating solidarity between the two peoples and their militaries.

At the event, Senior Lieutenant General Chien also extended sympathy to the Philippine government, people, and armed forces over the severe human and material losses caused by recent earthquakes and storms.

He expressed confidence that affected communities in the Philippines would soon stabilize their lives.

Looking ahead, Senior Lieutenant General Chien proposed that both sides continue to strengthen trust-based, comprehensive, and practical cooperation.

Priorities include expanding delegation exchanges, enhancing existing cooperation mechanisms, and promoting engagement among the navies, air forces, and coast guard units.

He also suggested exploring new areas of potential cooperation such as defense industry, logistics, military medicine, maritime security, search and rescue, and cybersecurity.

On the East Vietnam Sea issue, Senior Lieutenant General Chien underscored the shared strategic interest of both countries in maintaining peace, security, and safety of navigation and overflight.

He affirmed that Vietnam expects the Philippines to continue working with ASEAN to uphold the bloc’s position of resolving disputes by peaceful means and in accordance with international law.

Speaking at the dialogue, Undersecretary Espino expressed sympathy for the losses Vietnam has suffered from recent natural disasters.

He reaffirmed the Philippines’ high regard for its defense ties with Vietnam, hoping that both sides would further enhance practical cooperation, particularly in disaster response, search and rescue, and post-disaster recovery.

At the conclusion of the dialogue, Chien and Philippine Espino signed the Dialogue Minutes and witnessed the signing of the Terms of Reference on boosting cooperation in military medicine.

On the same day, Undersecretary Espino met with Vietnam’s Minister of National Defense, General Phan Van Giang.

General Giang emphasized that Vietnam and the Philippines, as maritime nations with shared strategic interests, have achieved significant and increasingly substantive progress nearly 50 years after establishing diplomatic ties.

He called for continued enhancement of delegation exchanges, especially at high levels, and further promotion of existing cooperation mechanisms such as the Defence Policy Dialogue, service-to-service consultations, exchanges among young and senior officers, personnel training, military medicine, logistics, defence industry, search and rescue, cybersecurity, and UN peacekeeping.

He also urged the two sides to maintain consultations and support each other in multilateral military-defense forums as the Philippines prepares to assume the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026, while jointly upholding ASEAN’s common position on regional issues, including the East Vietnam Sea.