President Marcos edits Facebook post on Vietnam’s arbitral award support

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos removed a sentence thanking Vietnam for supporting the 2016 South China Sea arbitral award in a Facebook post about his meeting with Vietnamese Defense Minister Gen. Phan Van Giang.

Phan paid a courtesy call on Marcos last Friday to discuss the ties between the Philippines and Vietnam, a visit that the President described as “a very significant point” in the history between the two countries.

In his original Facebook post about the visit, Marcos expressed gratitude to Vietnam for supporting the landmark ruling, which invalidated China’s wide-reaching claim in the South China Sea and affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights over its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. China has refused to recognize the ruling issued by a Hague-based international arbitral tribunal.

“We have elevated Philippines-Vietnam relations to greater heights with the visit of Vietnam’s Defense Minister, General Phan Van Giang,” Marcos’ original post read.

“We thank Vietnam for supporting the Arbitral Award. Together, we remain committed to peaceful resolutions, deescalating tensions and ensuring that the rule of law and a rules-based international order prevail in our region,” he added.

The edited post that appeared last Saturday did not contain the first sentence thanking Vietnam for backing the ruling. Malacañang has yet to respond to queries on why the President removed the sentence.

The Philippines, Vietnam and China are among the claimants in the South China Sea, along with Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Pham’s visit came days after Chinese ships rammed and fired water cannons at a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel providing supplies to Filipino fishermen in Escoda Shoal, and a Chinese aircraft committed “unsafe” aerial maneuvers and actions against a BFAR aircraft conducting routine patrol over the Panatag Shoal and Zamora Reef.

During his meeting with Phan, Marcos said the Philippines and Vietnam have enjoyed good relations, citing their talks on defense, security and maritime cooperation and trade. Phan cited what he described as the “very good interactions and exchanges” between the Philippines and Vietnam, especially their navy-to-navy discussions.

The two Southeast Asian countries have signed letters of intent on enhancing cooperation in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief at sea and military medicine. They aim to sign a memorandum on defense cooperation within the year.