Vietnam leader to visit Philippines next week for trade, security talks

MANILA, May 27 (Reuters): Vietnam’s top leader To Lam will visit the Philippines next week, Manila said on Wednesday, as President Ferdinand ​Marcos Jr seeks to further strengthen his country's alliances and security partnerships. Marcos will host Lam, Vietnam's president and Communist Party chief, for a two-day state visit from May 31 to June ​1 in an effort to advance trade, security and ​maritime cooperation, the office of Marcos said in a ⁠statement. Under Marcos, U.S. ally the Philippines has sought to build ​on and widen its network of security partnerships to counter ​an increasingly assertive China, last month holding its largest-ever multilateral defence exercises. Though the Philippines and Vietnam have overlapping claims to some islands and features in ​the South China Sea, disputes between them are rare, with ​their navies even playing sports together in the Spratly islands to demonstrate warm. ⁠Both countries are locked in long-running disputes with Beijing, which claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, and have in recent years engaged in standoffs with Chinese vessels. The ​coast guards of ​Vietnam and ⁠the Philippines held their first joint exercises in 2024. Lam is due to arrive in Thailand later ​Wednesday for an official visit before heading to ​Singapore on ⁠Friday to deliver the keynote address at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security gathering. Lam met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April in what ⁠was ​his first overseas trip since being ​elected state president, with a double mandate that made him the country's most ​powerful leader in decades. Photo from Reuters