VGP – Viet Nam and the Philippines have agreed to mull over the establishment of an annual political consultation mechanism and signing of new agreements on defense and law enforcement cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (R) and Filipino Secretary
of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Lopez Locsin Jr. at the Government Guesthouse in Ha Noi
on July 8, 2019. Photo: VGP

The agreement was reached by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Filipino Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Lopez Locsin Jr. at their talks in Ha Noi on Monday.

This is the second official meeting of the pair over the past four months. Last March, Minh and Locsin co-chaired the 9th meeting of the Viet Nam-Philippines Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation in Manila.

Both sides spoke highly of the positive advancements of the bilateral ties across fields over the past time and vowed to further deepen the ties through strengthening the exchange of high-level visits and contacts and promoting the effectiveness of their cooperative mechanisms, including the joint working group on ocean-related affairs and defense policy dialogue

The two countries agreed to work together to remove barriers against bilateral trade and coordinate closely in organizing the 3rd meeging of the Viet Nam-Philippines Joint Commission on Trade in 2019.

The sides also agreed to collaborate in improving the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation in such domains like education, labor, transport, science and technology, culture and sports, and fishery.

Amid the current regional and international background, both sides agreed to enhance consultation and coordination on security and strategic issues within ASEAN and work with other ASEAN members to promote the unity and central role of the bloc.

Both sides committed to close coordination at other multilateral forums like the United Nations, especially when Viet Nam undertakes the role as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the tenure 2020-2021.

Deputy PM, FM Minh and Secretary Locsin shared their views on recent developments in the East Sea, affirming the consistent position of settling disputes through peaceful measures in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

They underlined the necessity of strengthening trust as well as the importance of non-militarization and self-restraint in the East Sea.

The pair also reaffirmed their resolve to support each other and maintain ASEAN solidarity in full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and in the negotiations on a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) to ensure the practical and effective contents of the COC in line with international law and the UNCLOS.

After the talks, Deputy PM, FM Minh and Secretary Locsin signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the two foreign ministries.

The same day, Secretary Locsin made a courtesy call on Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the Government Office./.