Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (R) guides Vietnam’s President To Lam (L) during a bilateral meeting at Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila on June 1, 2026. Agence France-Presse
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and Vietnam on Monday agreed to renew the 2010 Philippines-Vietnam Memorandum of Agreement on Defense Cooperation in a bid to strengthen joint capabilities in maritime security, military education, and disaster risk reduction and management.
In a statement, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reaffirmed that maintaining peace, stability, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea “remains non-negotiable.”
“We stand resolute in our commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes, grounded firmly in international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award,” he said during a joint press conference with Vietnamese President Tô Lâm.
Article continues after this advertisement
