PH, Vietnam eye stronger defense cooperation

FILE: (Shutterstock photo)i

MANILA— Ranking defense officials of the Philippines and Vietnam met Thursday in a bid to further strengthen defense relations especially in the field of naval cooperation.

The meeting was spearheaded by Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Vietnamese Minister of National Defense Ngo Xuan Lich.

The two discussed possible ways to enhance both countries’ defense cooperation that has significantly improved since 2010 and greatly benefited both countries in the past few years.

Having discussed the recent unfortunate incident off the coast of Pangasinan involving a Philippine Navy (PN) vessel and Vietnamese fishermen that resulted in the loss of lives, Lorenzana extended his sincere apologies to Lich.

The incident took place 32 nautical miles off Bolinao, Pangasinan last September 23. The Vietnamese fishermen were allegedly poaching in Philippine waters when fired upon by the BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19), killing two.

The DND chief also relayed President Rodrigo Duterte’s assurance that the families of the Vietnamese fishermen who died in the incident would be properly compensated.

He added that PN personnel are being investigated by the concerned authorities. Lorenzana assured his Vietnamese counterpart that the case would be expediently resolved in a manner that is satisfactory to all parties.

In response, Lich suggested the establishment of a concrete mechanism between the navies of both countries to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future, a suggestion the DND chief strongly supported.

“Our defense cooperation with Vietnam has been very positive and we intend to build on those successes,” he added.

Noting how Vietnam was able to develop its own military industry, Lorenzana added that the Philippines may also consider tapping the expertise of Vietnam in developing the country’s defense industry.

Also discussed in the meeting were the possibility of increasing the existing opportunities for exchange of senior and junior officers, information and intelligence exchange, joint training, and addressing non-traditional security challenges such as humanitarian assistance and disaster response, piracy, illegal drugs, and terrorism. (PNA)