The Philippines and Vietnam on Monday elevated their bilateral relationship to an Enhanced Strategic Partnership, strengthening their defense, maritime security and economic cooperation as both nations face growing tensions in the South China Sea.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vietnamese President Tô Lâm formalized the diplomatic upgrade during bilateral talks in Malacañang, marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership.

“Today, we elevate our ties to an enhanced strategic partnership,” said Marcos, adding that the move would broaden cooperation in defense, trade, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

As fellow claimants in the South China Sea, the Philippines and Vietnam reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining the peace, stability, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the disputed waters.

The two nations renewed a defense cooperation agreement that was originally signed in 2010, expanding exchanges on security and defense matters and increasing information-sharing.

They also agreed to strengthen cooperation against transnational crimes, including cyber scams, human trafficking, illegal migration and illegal gambling.

Tourism, too

The diplomatic alignment comes days after China said it drove away a Dutch naval vessel near the disputed Paracel Islands and after the United States, India, Japan and Australia expressed concern over the escalating tensions and unsafe actions in the South China Sea.

Beyond security cooperation, the tourism chiefs of the Philippines and Vietnam agreed to boost each other’s tourism by improving visitor traffic through enhanced cooperation and exchanges.

This was agreed upon following the signing of the Tourism Cooperation Program for 2026-2029 by Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay and Minister Lam Thi Phuong Thanh.

Under the proposed three-year collaboration, the Philippines and Vietnam agreed to enhance cooperation and exchanges to increase overall tourist traffic between the two countries.

Further, the bilateral tourism cooperation covered agreements in the areas of travel facilitation, research and development, tourism management and operations, human resource capacity-building, as well as joint promotion and marketing.

In 2025, Vietnam ranked 23rd as a source market for Philippine tourism, accounting for 33,599 visitors, or about 0.57 percent of total arrivals last year.

At present, Vietnam Airlines operates three direct routes to the Philippines, including daily flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Manila, and flights from Hanoi to Cebu from Sunday to Thursday.

The flights have a combined weekly seat capacity of 2,608, signifying the strengthened tourism and connectivity ties between the neighboring ASEAN countries.