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 Philippines |  Vietnam |
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ThePhilippines–Vietnam relations refers to the bilateral relations of theRepublic of the Philippines and theSocialist Republic of Vietnam. Since the end of theCold War, relations between the two countries have warmed significantly.Vietnam is sometimes referred to as the only communist military ally of thePhilippines, 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 theSouth China Sea issue, withVietnam backing thePhilippine victory in the ICC againstChina, and thePhilippines backing to a certain extent the claim ofVietnam in theParacels. Both nations have overlapping claims in theSpratlys, but have never made military confrontations as both view each other as diplomatic allies andASEAN brethren.
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Relations between thePhilippines andVietnam began centuries ago. There was proof that inhabitants of both countries were already involved in maritime trade prior to the arrival of Europeans. Ships fromLuzon in the Philippine archipelago came to the great port of Vietnam in theGulf 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 theDong Son Culture in Hanoi, were exported to ports in the Philippines.[2][3]
TheSong dynasty's "The History of Song", show that the Filipino nation ofMa-i atMindoro was a mere two days’ sail fromChampa (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 theChampa Civilization in Central and South Vietnam vs theRajahnate of Butuan in Southern Philippines.[5]
TheChams then migrated to theSulu archipelago, home of the then Hindu would-beSulu 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 thePirates of the South China Coast and how Fujianese pirates andWokous 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]
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 Philippines |  South Vietnam |
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ThePhilippines was initially aligned withSouth Vietnam and provided them humanitarian aid in theVietnam War.
Before theFall of Saigon, which preludes the disestablishment ofSouth Vietnam, thePhilippines was already preparing to establish relations withNorth Vietnam.PresidentMarcos authorised his wife,First LadyImelda Marcos, to make direct contacts while she was conducting state visits to Middle-eastern countries in early 1975. The communist takeover ofCambodia and the impending defeat of South Vietnamese forces ledManila to establish ties withHanoi. The move was not seen as surprising as it was in line withMarcos' 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 inManila to discuss the formal establishment of ties between the two countries. On July 12, 1976, formal relations were finally established with thePhilippines[14] the fourth country in theASEAN 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 inHo Chi Minh City, attempts ofVietnamese nationals to illegally enter thePhilippines by claiming themselves to be members of Filipino families, and the involvement ofFilipinos in the black market was received by the Philippine embassy. These issues hampered relations until the early 1980s.[12]
Despite Vietnam's alignment with theSoviet 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 PresidentTruong Tan Sang made a state visit to the Philippines where he met with his Filipino counterpart,PresidentBenigno 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 thePhilippine Navy and theVietnam People's Navy.[19][20]
Both being victims ofTyphoon 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 theVietnam Red Cross Society.[22]
The Philippines and Vietnam have territorial disputes over theSpratly Islands, along withBrunei,China,Malaysia, andTaiwan. The Philippines and Vietnam both disapprove of China'snine-dash map which China uses as justification for its claim in theSouth 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 theUNCLOS taken into account.[19]
In December 2015, pirates believed to be from theMoro Pirates, rogue Muslim Filipinos wanted for war crimes in thePhilippines, murdered a Vietnamese fisherman in theSouth 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 byIslamic terrorism. BothVietnam and thePhilippines have upheld a variety of international agreements againstterrorism in the region.[26]
In 2016, after a legal battle inThe Hague, the International Court of Justice of the United Nations ruled in favor of all arguments of thePhilippines againstChina's claims in theSouth China Sea, effectively nullifyingChina'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 theSouth China Sea, replacing corals reefs with man-made islands that house military bases and missile launchers.Vietnam formally supported thePhilippines in itsarbitration case against China regarding China'snine-dash claim over theSouth 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 theSouth 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]
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A Memorandum of Understanding agreement supported information sharing between thePhilippine Navy and theVietnam People's Navy.
On November 23, 2014, two frigates from theVietnamese People's Navy made its first port call to thePhilippines. VesselsHQ-011 Dinh Tien Hoang andHQ-012 Ly Thai To docked at theManila South Harbor for a goodwill visit which lasted three days. The move was initiated by formerPresidentBenigno 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 thePhilippine Coast Guard by the Philippines and Vietnam, and will be the first Vietnamese Coast Guard vessel to visit the Philippines.[31]
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On February 27, 2025, Philippine authorities arrested 401 individuals, including 132 Vietnamese nationals, in a raid on a suspected online gambling and scam hub inPasay City. The suspects were accused of involvement in illegal online gaming, cryptocurrency, romance, and investment scams. The operation followed a report from a concerned citizen and led to the seizure of electronic equipment used for scamming. The incident highlights ongoing concerns about cybercrime and exploitation inSoutheast Asia, with many workers, including those from Vietnam, being coerced into participating in such operations.[32]
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.
A local fishery association has said the murderers were Filipinos.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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