Philippines–Vietnam relations

The Philippines–Vietnam relations refers to the bilateral relations of the Republic of the Philippines and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Since the end of the Cold War, relations between the two countries have warmed significantly. Vietnam is sometimes referred to as the only communist military ally of the Philippines, especially after Vietnam joined ASEAN in 1995. Both nations have cooperated in the fields of education, tourism, agriculture, aquaculture, trade, and defense. Additionally, both nations have similar positions on the South China Sea issue, with Vietnam backing the Philippine victory in the ICC against China, and the Philippines backing to a certain extent the claim of Vietnam in the Paracels. Both nations have overlapping claims in the Spratlys, but have never made military confrontations as both view each other as diplomatic allies and ASEAN brethren.

Philippines-Vietnam relations
Map indicating locations of Philippines and Vietnam

Philippines

Vietnam

Early history

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Vietnamese from Giao Chỉ (Northern Vietnam) in the Philippines, c. 1590 Boxer Codex
Vietnamese Warrior from Giao Chỉ (Northern Vietnam) in the Philippines, c. 1590 Boxer Codex
Vietnamese from Quảng Nam (Southern Vietnam) in the Philippines, c. 1590 Boxer Codex
Cham Couple from Champa (in modern-day Southern Vietnam) in the Philippines, c. 1590 Boxer Codex

Relations between the Philippines and Vietnam began centuries ago. There was proof that inhabitants of both countries were already involved in maritime trade prior to the arrival of Europeans. Ships from Luzon in the Philippine archipelago came to the great port of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin to trade.

By 1500 BC, jade that was manufactured in the Philippines using raw materials from Taiwan, ended up in Vietnamese ports.[1] Likewise, by 1000 BC, bronze drums from the Dong Son Culture in Hanoi, were exported to ports in the Philippines.[2][3]

The Song dynasty's "The History of Song", show that the Filipino nation of Ma-i at Mindoro was a mere two days’ sail from Champa (a nation that once occupied central Vietnam) and that Champa’s and Mai’s merchants traded frequently with each other.[4]

During 1000 AD, there was a commercial rivalry for Chinese trade between the Champa Civilization in Central and South Vietnam vs the Rajahnate of Butuan in Southern Philippines.[5]

The Chams then migrated to the Sulu archipelago, home of the then Hindu would-be Sulu Sultanate. These Chams in southwestern Philippines were called Orang Dampuan.[6] Champa and Sulu engaged in commerce with each other which resulted in merchant Chams settling in Sulu during the 10th-13th centuries. The Orang Dampuan were slaughtered by envious native Sulu Buranuns due to the wealth of the Orang Dampuan.[7] The Buranun were then subjected to retaliatory slaughter by the Orang Dampuan. Harmonious commerce between Sulu and the Orang Dampuan was later restored.[8] The Yakans were descendants of the Taguima-based Orang Dampuan who came to Sulu from Champa.[9] Sulu received civilization in its Indic form from the Orang Dampuan.[10]

During the transition from the precolonial to colonial eras, both the Philippines and Vietnam witnessed the actions of the Pirates of the South China Coast and how Fujianese pirates and Wokous from Japan intervened in the political, military and commercial affairs of the Vietnamese coast and Philippine archipelago.[11]

Maritime trade relations were then disrupted with the conquest of the Philippines by the Spaniards in the 16th century and the conquest of Vietnam by the French in the 19th century.[12]

The French occupation of Vietnam was successful partially because of assistance from Spanish-Philippines as soldiers from Spanish-Philippines which also included Mexican immigrants, were used by the French to augment the forces that invaded Saigon.[13]

Cold War

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Philippines–South Vietnam relations
 
 
Philippines
 
South Vietnam
 
Members of the Philippine Civic Action Group (PHILCAG) arriving in Tay Ninh who were assisting the South Vietnamese government in the Vietnam War.

The Philippines was initially aligned with South Vietnam and provided them humanitarian aid in the Vietnam War.

Before the Fall of Saigon, which preludes the disestablishment of South Vietnam, the Philippines was already preparing to establish relations with North Vietnam. President Marcos authorised his wife, First Lady Imelda Marcos, to make direct contacts while she was conducting state visits to Middle-eastern countries in early 1975. The communist takeover of Cambodia and the impending defeat of South Vietnamese forces led Manila to establish ties with Hanoi. The move was not seen as surprising as it was in line with Marcos' foreign policy to strengthen ties with socialist states in order to broaden economic and trade ties.[12]

On July 9, 1976, Vietnam Deputy Foreign Minister Phan Hien arrived in Manila to discuss the formal establishment of ties between the two countries. On July 12, 1976, formal relations were finally established with the Philippines[14] the fourth country in the ASEAN to establish relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. The Philippines and Vietnam opened their respective embassies in 1978.[12][15]

Among the first problems to test the relation between the two countries was the repatriation of 14 Filipinos and 10 Vietnamese families who were still in Ho Chi Minh City, attempts of Vietnamese nationals to illegally enter the Philippines by claiming themselves to be members of Filipino families, and the involvement of Filipinos in the black market was received by the Philippine embassy. These issues hampered relations until the early 1980s.[12]

Post-Cold War relations

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President Benigno Aquino III and President Nguyễn Minh Triết during a bilateral meeting in 2010
 
President Bongbong Marcos and Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính during a bilateral meeting in 2023

Despite Vietnam's alignment with the Soviet Union and the Philippines with the United States during the Cold War, bilateral ties between the two countries can be recently described as friendly. On October 26, 2011, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang made a state visit to the Philippines where he met with his Filipino counterpart, President Benigno Aquino III. The two countries signed four agreements on naval, coast guard and tourism as part of the Philippine-Vietnam Action Plan 2011–2016 framework.[16][17][18] A Memorandum of Understanding agreement supported information sharing between the Philippine Navy and the Vietnam People's Navy.[19][20]

Both being victims of Typhoon Haiyan (though Vietnam was not as greatly affected as previously expected),[21] the Vietnamese still donated to help the Philippines in its rehabilitation efforts after the natural disaster, through the Vietnam Red Cross Society.[22]

The Philippines and Vietnam have territorial disputes over the Spratly Islands, along with Brunei, China, Malaysia, and Taiwan. The Philippines and Vietnam both disapprove of China's nine-dash map which China uses as justification for its claim in the South China Sea.[23][24][25] Both countries were also committed to a multilateral diplomatic approach to the resolution of disputes in the South China Sea with the UNCLOS taken into account.[19]

In December 2015, pirates believed to be from the Moro Pirates, rogue Muslim Filipinos wanted for war crimes in the Philippines, murdered a Vietnamese fisherman in the South China Sea, which sparked a strong protest from the Vietnamese side. The event also sparked outrage from the Philippine side, who was persecuting the wanted criminals who may have been influenced by Islamic terrorism. Both Vietnam and the Philippines have upheld a variety of international agreements against terrorism in the region.[26]

In 2016, after a legal battle in The Hague, the International Court of Justice of the United Nations ruled in favor of all arguments of the Philippines against China's claims in the South China Sea, effectively nullifying China's claims in the international legal arena. However, China waived the international court's ruling despite being a signatory with respect to international laws and UNCLOS and sent more military vessels to the South China Sea, replacing corals reefs with man-made islands that house military bases and missile launchers. Vietnam formally supported the Philippines in its arbitration case against China regarding China's nine-dash claim over the South China Sea in the entirety of the case.[27]

In August 2017, Vietnam pushed for the inclusion of a stronger statement against Chinese activities in the South China Sea.[citation needed]

In May 2019, after a Chinese vessel rammed and sank a civilian Filipino vessel and left 22 Filipino fishermen adrift and exposed to the elements, Vietnam sent a ship that successfully rescued the drowning Filipinos, gaining praise from the Philippine side.[28][29]

Military ties

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A Memorandum of Understanding agreement supported information sharing between the Philippine Navy and the Vietnam People's Navy.

On November 23, 2014, two frigates from the Vietnamese People's Navy made its first port call to the Philippines. Vessels HQ-011 Dinh Tien Hoang and HQ-012 Ly Thai To docked at the Manila South Harbor for a goodwill visit which lasted three days. The move was initiated by former President Benigno Aquino III.[30]

In August 2024, the Vietnamese Coast Guard sent the ship CSB 8002 to take part in the first joint naval drills with the Philippine Coast Guard by the Philippines and Vietnam, and will be the first Vietnamese Coast Guard vessel to visit the Philippines. It is to arrive on the 5th and stay until the 9th of August.[31]

Country comparison

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Official name   Republic of the Philippines   Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Native Name Republika ng Pilipinas Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam
Coat of Arms    
Flag    
National Motto Maka-Diyos, Maka-Tao, Makakalikasan at Makabansa
"For God, People, Nature and Country"
Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc
"Independence – Liberty – Happiness"
National Anthem Lupang Hinirang
"Chosen Land"
Tiến Quân Ca'
"Song of Advancing Soldiers"
Population 117,337,368 98,858,950
Area 345,598 km2 (133,436 sq mi) 331,689 km2 (128,066 sq mi)
Population Density 394/km2 (1,020/sq mi) 319/km2 (830/sq mi)
Time zones Philippine Standard Time (UTC+08:00) Indochina Time (UTC+07:00)
Capital   Manila   Hanoi
Largest City   Quezon City – 2,936,116 Ho Chi Minh City – 8,426,100
Government Unitary presidential constitutional republic Unitary Marxist-Leninist socialist republic
Party System Multi-party system One-party system
Established   12 June 1898 (Declared)
  4 July 1946 (Granted)
  2 September 1945 (Declared)
  30 April 1975 (Reunification)
Predecessor States Spanish Colonial Period (1565–1898)
  Tondo Dynasty
(900–1589)
  Captaincy General of the Philippines (1565–1898)
  Republic of the Tagalog People (1896–1897)

American Colonial Period (1898–1946)
  Military Government of the Philippine Islands (1898–1902)
  Philippine Republic (1899–1902)
  Insular Government of the Philippine Islands (1902–1935)
  Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935–1946)
  Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic (1943–1945)

Post–Colonial Period (1946–present)
  Republic of the Philippines
French Colonial Period (1858–1954)
  Nguyễn Dynasty (1802–1883)
  Colony of Cochinchina (1862–1949)
  Protectorate of Tonkin (1883–1948)
  Protectorate of Annam (1883–1948)
  Japanese-sponsored Vietnamese Empire (1945)
  State of Vietnam (1949–1955)

American War Period (1954–1976)
  Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945–1976)
  Republic of Vietnam (1955–1975)
  Republic of South Vietnam (1969–1976)

Post–Division Period (1976–present)
  Socialist Republic of Vietnam
First Leader   Emilio Aguinaldo (official)
  Manuel Luis Quezon (de jure)
  Ho Chi Minh (official)
  Lê Duẩn (reunified)
Current Leader(s)   President: Bongbong Marcos   President: Tô Lâm
  Vice President: Sara Duterte-Carpio   Prime Minister: Phạm Minh Chính
Legislature   Congress (Bicameral)
  Senate
President: Juan Miguel Zubiri
  House of Representatives
Speaker: Martin Romualdez
  National Assembly (Unicameral)
Chairperson: Trần Thanh Mẫn
Judiciary   Supreme Court
Chief Justice: Alexander Gesmundo
Supreme People's Court
Chief Justice: Nguyễn Hòa Bình
Military   Armed Forces of the Philippines
Chief of Staff: Andres Centino
  People's Army of Vietnam
Chief of General Staff: Nguyễn Tân Cương
  Philippine Army
  Philippine Air Force
  Philippine Navy
  Philippine Coast Guard
  Vietnam People's Ground Forces
  Vietnam People's Air Force
  Vietnam People's Navy
  Vietnam Border Defence Force
  Vietnam Coast Guard
Law Enforcement Agency   Philippine National Police (PNP)   Vietnam People's Public Security
Religion
Ethnic groups Tagalog: 24.4%
Cebuano: 21.3%
Ilocano: 8.8%
Hiligaynon: 8.4%
Bicolano: 6.8%
Others: 30.2%
Kinh: 85.3
Tay: 1.9%
Tai: 1.9%
Muong: 1.5%
Hmong: 1.5%
Others: 9.4%
National language Filipino Vietnamese
GDP (PPP) US$811.726 billion ($7,846 per capita) US$648.243 billion ($6,925 per capita)
Currency Philippine peso (₱/PHP)   Vietnamese đồng (đ/VND)

References

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  1. ^ Bellwood, P., H. Hung, H., Lizuka, Y. (2011). Taiwan Jade in the Philippines: 3,000 Years of Trade and Long-distance Interaction. Semantic Scholar.
  2. ^ Nola Cooke, Tana Li, James Anderson - The Tongking Gulf Through History - Page 46 2011 -"Nishimura actually suggested the Đông Sơn phase belonged in the late metal age, and some other Japanese scholars argued that, contrary to the conventional belief that the Han invasion ended Đông Sơn culture, Đông Sơn artifacts, ..."
  3. ^ Vietnam Fine Arts Museum 2000 "... the bronze cylindrical jars, drums, Weapons and tools which were sophistically carved and belonged to the World famous Đông Sơn culture dating from thousands of years; the Sculptures in the round, the ornamental architectural Sculptures...."
  4. ^ Wade, Geoff (2005). Champa in the Song hui-yao: A draft translation. Asia Research Institute, Singapore.
  5. ^ Scott, William (1984). Prehispanic Source Materials: For the Study of Philippine History (revised ed.). Quezon City: New Day Publishers. p. 66. ISBN 9711002264.
  6. ^ https://tekalong.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/chps-1-3.pdf
  7. ^ The Filipino Moving Onward 5' 2007 Ed. Rex Bookstore, Inc. pp. 3–. ISBN 978-971-23-4154-0.
  8. ^ Philippine History Module-based Learning I' 2002 Ed. Rex Bookstore, Inc. pp. 39–. ISBN 978-971-23-3449-8.
  9. ^ Philippine History. Rex Bookstore, Inc. 2004. pp. 46–. ISBN 978-971-23-3934-9.
  10. ^ Study Skills in English for a Changing World' 2001 Ed. Rex Bookstore, Inc. pp. 23–. ISBN 978-971-23-3225-8.
  11. ^ Murray, Dian H. (1987). Pirates of the South China Coast, 1790-1810. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-1376-6.
  12. ^ a b c d Lim, Benito ed. Asian Studies. Quezon City: Asian Center, 1997. 57-68
  13. ^ Nigel Gooding, Filipino Involvement in the French-Spanish Campaign in Indochina, retrieved July 4, 2008
  14. ^ "Phl, Vietnam Celebrate 35th Anniversary of Bilateral Relations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City". Dfa.gov.ph. 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  15. ^ "Vietnam Embassy in Philippines - Bilateral relations". Vietnamembassy-philippines.org. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  16. ^ "Vietnamese President visits the Philippines". Asia Society. 2011-10-26. Retrieved 2012-06-09.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "Aquino hopes for stronger Philippines-Vietnam relations". ZamboTimes. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  18. ^ "Sang: Vietnam is a reliable friend". Businessmirror.com.ph. 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2012-06-09.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ a b "Philippines, Vietnam forge naval agreement on Spratlys". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  20. ^ "Philippines, Vietnam Set Military Exercises". Manila Bulletin. 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  21. ^ "Typhoon hits Vietnam as millions await aid in devastated Philippines". ABC News. November 11, 2013.
  22. ^ ONLINE, TUOI TRE (November 12, 2013). "Báo Tuổi Trẻ và T.Ư Hội chữ thập đỏ VN tiếp nhận cứu trợ Philippines". TUOI TRE ONLINE.
  23. ^ "Aquino: China's 'nine-dash line' is the problem in West PHL Sea". GMA News. 2012-04-16. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  24. ^ Jamandre, Tessa (2011-04-13). "PH protests China's '9-dash line' claim over Spratlys". Ph.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  25. ^ "Vietnamese intellectuals back PH Panatag claim". The Manila Times. 2012-05-22. Archived from the original on 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  26. ^ Trung Nguyen (1 December 2015). "Killing of Vietnamese Fisherman in Contested Waters Sparks Outrage". Voice of America. Retrieved 11 November 2016. Earlier Phan Huy Hoang, chairman of Quang Ngai Association of Fisheries, said the fishermen told him that Philippine bandits might be involved in the case. For sure, they are foreign attackers, but their nationality is not known yet.
    * "Fishing association claims Filipino boat crew shot dead Vietnamese fisherman". Dantri News International. 2 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-11-14. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
    * "Vietnam orders investigation into shooting death of fisherman in Vietnamese waters". Tuổi Trẻ. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2016. A local fishery association has said the murderers were Filipinos.
  27. ^ Thu, Huong Le. "Rough Waters Ahead for Vietnam-China Relations". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  28. ^ Gutierrez, Jason; Beech, Hannah (2019-06-13). "Sinking of Philippine Boat Puts South China Sea Back at Issue". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  29. ^ Maru, Davinci. "How the Vietnamese rescued Pinoy fishermen rammed by Chinese vessel". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  30. ^ Mai Thanh Hai (25 November 2014). "Vietnamese warships make first-ever port call to Philippines". Thanh Nien News. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  31. ^ Tamayo, Franco Jose C. Baroña,Francisco Tuyay,Bernadette E. (2024-08-03). "PH steps up sea drills with allies". The Manila Times. Retrieved 2024-08-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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