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Marcos Jr departs for Vietnam for state visit, VP Sara designated gov't caretaker

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Joyce Balancio and Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. delivers a speech during the Bagong Pilipinas Kick-Off Rally in Manila on January 28, 2024. The rally is said to be a “call to action” for Filipinos to participate in the government’s efforts to improve the country. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2024/news/01/29/01292024-marcos-jr-departs-for-vietnam.jpg"/><figcaption>President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. delivers a speech during the Bagong Pilipinas Kick-Off Rally in Manila on January 28, 2024. The rally is said to be a “call to action” for Filipinos to participate in the government’s efforts to improve the country. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>(UPDATED) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Monday departed for Vietnam for a two-day state visit.In his departure speech at the Villamor Airbase, he stressed the importance of visiting the country to “reaffirm the commitment in further strengthening bilateral relations” of Vietnam and Philippines. Vietnam is a fellow member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Philippines’s “only strategic partner in the ASEAN region”, said Marcos.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2944642" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>The President is expected to meet the leaders of Vietnam including President Thưởng, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, and National Assembly of Vietnam Chairman Vương Đình Huệ to discuss cooperation on various areas.“Maritime cooperation will be one of the cornerstones of the strategic partnership which we are going to forge, and we hope to strengthen this aspect during my visit to promote peace and stability in our region,” he said.“I will also discuss cooperation in defense and security, trade and investments, education, tourism, as well as regional and multilateral issues of concern,” he added.Marcos will also face business leaders to promote trade and investment relations “I strongly believe that we have a vast array of opportunities, especially in a post-pandemic world,” he said.The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said that there are 39 agreements expected to be signed during the visit in the fields of “trade and investments, customs, air services, agriculture, visa waivers for diplomatic and official passport holders, visa facilitation, tourism, among others.”He is also scheduled to meet with approximately 7,000 Filipinos working and residing in Vietnam.“Most of them are professionals, including teachers who have been shaping the minds of future generations,” he said. “I hope that they will be able to continue to exhibit the best of Filipino values and that the State Visit will result in lasting opportunities for them and for our country,” he added.The Philippines and Vietnam’s relations have spanned for over 50 years and with this visit, Marcos hopes to bring that to even “greater heights”.“I believe that we will usher in a new era of friendship and cooperation between our two countries,” he said.<div>&#x27;SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE&#x27;</div>The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier described Marcos&#x27; Vietnam visit as a “significant milestone” in the bilateral relations of the two countries that both have claims in the South China Sea.The DFA did not clarify if the signing of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea between the Philippines and Vietnam would also be part of the deals that Manila and Hanoi would ink during Marcos Jr.’s state visit. The DFA earlier said that the agreements would involve the “continuous supply of rice to the Philippines” and “how both Coast Guards will operate with each other.” The President’s state visit to Vietnam will be a “significant milestone in evolving relations with Vietnam,” the DFA told reporters in Malacañang last week. “The President is also expected to tackle important regional and international issues with Vietnam, and would like to share views and perspectives particularly those involving the ASEAN region,” the DFA said. In November 2023, Marcos Jr. said the Philippines has “taken the initiative to approach those other countries” in Southeast Asia that also have claims in the South China Sea “to make our own Code of Conduct,” underscoring that the progress in forging similar document between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) “has been rather slow.” The Philippines and Vietnam are among the 6 nations claiming parts of the South China Sea, with overlapping interests in the Spratly Islands. In May 2023, Vietnam called out the Philippines for installing buoys in 5 areas near the Spratlys. Despite this, Manila and Hanoi have maintained cool-headed discussions in resolving maritime conflicts thanks to a strategic partnership signed in November 2015, which compels both countries to “resolve territorial and jurisdictional dispute by peaceful means.” IMPACT OF MARCOS JR.’S STATE VISIT Stronger bilateral relations between the Philippines and Vietnam may push China to behave more carefully in the South China Sea, especially if the two nations would have a “untied front” against China’s expansionist agenda in the strategic waterway, said Atty. Jay Batongbacal, Director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea at the University of the Philippines College of Law. “Ayaw ng China yun. Gusto niya, bilateral lang. Gusto niya, isa-isa lang niyang kinakausap, kasi siyempre, pag ganun… eh kınakaya niya, nadedehado yung mga mas maliit,” he said in an earlier interview. In May 2023, the Philippines sent a team to Vietnam to “strengthen coordination on maritime issues in regional and multilateral bodies, especially in working towards the conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct on the South China Sea.” “The two countries expressed serious concern over unilateral activities that undermine peace and stability in the region,” according to a DFA statement, which noted that Manila and Hanoi have “committed to work together to protect their rights and legitimate interests under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).” “The delegations also conveyed their governments’ gratitude for the humane treatment accorded by both countries to Filipino and Vietnamese fisherfolk found in distress at sea,” the statement read. In August 2023, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo traveled to Vietnam where he underscored that “the South China Sea is the lifeblood of millions of Filipino and Vietnamese people who depend on the sea for their livelihood.” “It is a given that we consider safe and secure seas and sound maritime ecosystems as integral to the future of our peoples and our region,” Manalo had said, noting that Vietnam is the Philippines’ lone strategic partner in Southeast Asia. ‘BOOSTING BILATERAL TRADE TO $10 BILLION’ The 2015 strategic partnership between Manila and Hanoi also guarantees that the 2 Southeast Asian nations will “increase bilateral trade in goods, services and investments to achieve a landmark level of trade and investment.” “Our 2 countries have set a goal of boosting bilateral trade to $10 billion in the coming years,” the DFA said last week. “The President will meet with business leaders to encourage closer trade and investment cooperation between our 2 countries.” In 2022, bilateral trade between the Philippines and Vietnam was pegged at $7.8 billion, the Philippine News Agency said, citing data from Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Philippines exports to Vietnam was at $2.7 billion, with digital monolithic circuits, refined copper, semiconductors and electronic machinery among the top export goods. Vietnam’s exports to the Philippines, on the other hand, is at $5.1 billion, mostly thanks to its rice, iron and cement products. In 2021, the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) listed “fast-moving consumer goods, consumer brand marketing, agro and food processing, IT and financial services, Filipino franchise brands, hospitals, and infrastructure” as some of the “priority sectors for investment promotion in Vietnam.”Marcos Jr.’s state visit is upon the invitation of Vietnam President Vo Van Thuong. Joining the President are First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, and some members of the economic team. Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte is designated as the government’s caretaker while Marcos is in Vietnam until January 30.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Monday departed for Vietnam for a two-day state visit, his first foreign travel for the year.

Marcos Jr departs for Vietnam for state visit, VP Sara designated gov't caretaker

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Marcos Jr departs for Vietnam for state visit, VP Sara designated gov't caretaker

Joyce Balancio and Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 29, 2024 03:38 PM PHT

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Updated Jan 29, 2024 07:02 PM PHT

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