MANILA, Philippines (Reuters) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday (September 28) departed on a two-day state visit to Vietnam to seek help for his war on drugs and improve maritime cooperation between Manila and Hanoi.
Duterte will meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and other top government officials on September 29.
Duterte said his visit to Vietnam is part of his plan to tap members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in stopping the proliferation of illegal drugs in the region.
“We should also seek new ways to advance collaboration with the campaign against illegal drugs, straight, consistent with the global of realizing an ASEAN drug-free community. We will work with Vietnam and the rest of the ASEAN in suppressing the proliferation of illegal drugs for us to secure a better future for our generation and the generations to come,” he said.
Duterte also said he will seek closer ties with Vietnam on maritime cooperation.
“We will seek to identify emerging areas of partnership, particularly in the fields of maritime security and law enforcement,” Duterte said.
The Philippines and Vietnam have rival claims over the South China Sea, a busy shipping route where more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually, which is also claimed by China and three other countries.
Both Manila and Hanoi have seen the brunt China’s military build-up in the region, claiming Vietnamese and Filipino fishermen were being harassed by Beijing’s coast guard since 2012.
An international arbitration court ruled in July that Beijing had no historic title over the South China Sea, and had breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights with various actions there.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Charles Jose said on Monday (September 26) Duterte is prepared to discuss the South China Sea dispute should the topic be raised in Hanoi.