Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-08
By: Staff Reporter

Philippine and Vietnamese officials have announced that they will sign a strategic partnership

Philippine president Benigno Aquino, right, talks with Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung after their joint press statement at the Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila on May 21, 2014. (Photo/Aaron Favila/POOL/CFP)

agreement at the end of this year to strengthen defense, political and economic ties between the two countries, including cooperation on the South China Sea issue, according to the Junweichangfeng military affairs blog, hosted on the website of Hong Kong’s Phoenix New Media.

The Philippine secretary of foreign affairs Albert del Rosario told reporters on the evening of Sept. 2 that representatives from the two countries will sign the agreement during the APEC informal leaders meeting set to be held in Manila in November. “As strategic partners, we aim to deliver results… a cooperation at the highest possible level,” he said.

The Vietnamese ambassador to the Philippines Truong Trieu Duong said meanwhile, “We will deepen our cooperation in order to solve all the issues concerning the South China Sea in a most peaceful way in accordance with international law.”     [FULL  STORY]