PH, Vietnam discuss MOA on incident prevention in SCS

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh raised a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on the prevention and management of incidents in the South China Sea (SCS) during his bilateral meeting with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“[A] memorandum of agreement on prevention and management of incidents in the South China Sea which will be officially signed with other countries and we also look forward to working closely with the Philippines in constant coordination,” Pham said. 

Vietnam’s top leader mentioned this as he discussed maritime cooperation between the two countries.

According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Marcos also discussed the possibility of having a fishery cooperation with Vietnam.

“That’s why the agreement that we are proposing is very important because it should not limit itself only to security and defense issues but also on the fishing rights,” Marcos said.

“So again, we have an understanding between the two countries so that we will not have any problems between your fishermen and ours,” he added.

Marcos also stressed the importance of the relationship between the two countries.

“It is to our advantage that we have taken not just one but more steps in strengthening the partnership, the alliance, the relationship not only in the bilateral context of ASEAN but also the arrangement between our two countries,” the Philippine top leader said.

In the same meeting, Pham said the Philippines and Vietnam are finalizing a rice trade agreement that will take effect for five years.

“Our two countries will conclude an inter-government agreement on rice trade so that our rice export to the Philippines will ensure food security in the Philippines,” Pham said during his bilateral meeting with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. here.

“We look forward to having a stable framework of cooperation on rice trade for a long period of at least five years,” he added.

According to Pham, this agreement will ensure imports from Vietnam to the Philippines.

In response, Marcos acknowledged Vietnam for raising the “main issue” for both countries, which is food supply.  —VAL, GMA Integrated News