Co-chairs of the meeting were Major General Tran Quang Tuan, Commander of the VCG’s Coast Guard Region 2, and Rear Admiral Agapito B. Bibat, Commander of the PCG’s Coast Guard District Central Visayas. Vietnamese Defense Attaché to the Philippines Senior Colonel Luong Van Manh attended the event.
At the meeting, Rear Admiral Agapito B. Bibat highly valued the effective implementation of bilateral cooperation commitments between the VCG and PCG in recent years. He highlighted key events such as the visit of VCG’s coast guard ship 8002 to Manila in August 2024, and the friendship visit of the PCG’s vessel BRP Gabriela Silang to Vietnam in April 2025.
According the Philippine senior officer, this visit to Cebu of ship 8002 was regarded as an important cooperative activity in realizing the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two sides in January 2024 in the presence of the Presidents of Vietnam and the Philippines. It has provided both sides an opportunity to exchange experience, share knowledge, and strengthen solidarity and mutual understanding, thereby deepening the friendship and cooperation between the two coast guard forces.
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Major General Tran Quang Tuan, Commander of the VCG’s Coast Guard Region 2 at the event |
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Rear Admiral Agapito B. Bibat, Commander of the PCG’s Coast Guard District Central Visayas |
On behalf of the VCG delegation, Major General Tran Quang Tuan emphasized that the cooperative ties between the two coast guard forces have continued to grow substantively and effectively, contributing positively to fostering the time-honored friendship between the two countries, and to maintaining a secure, safe, peaceful, and stable maritime environment for regional cooperation and development.
In particular, April 2024 marked the first-ever bilateral meeting co-chaired by the heads of both forces. In December 2024, the PCG participated in the second “Vietnam Coast Guard and Friends” Exchange Program. In April 2025, the PCG sent a ship to Vietnam to conduct joint search and rescue exercise with the VCG’s ship 8002. In addition, the VCG took part in various events hosted or co-organized by the PCG over the past time.
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Both head delegates sign and exchange the minutes of the meeting. |
Both sides agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in the spirit of the MoU on maritime safety and security cooperation. They will hold regular dialogues for regional maritime communities, exchange information and share experience and conduct joint exercises, actively participate in programs, training courses and conferences chaired by each side and responsibly engage in activities in multilateral framework that both sides are members. They also reached agreement on further exchanging information about maritime law enforcement, anti-piracy, armed robbery prevention, and search and rescue operations.
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Delegates in a joint photo |
The second bilateral meeting took place in a friendly, open, and respectful atmosphere, with both sides reaching a high level of consensus on expanding cooperation in maritime law enforcement and ensuring maritime safety and security, a solid foundation for broader cooperation in accordance with international law and the shared goal of maintaining a secure, safe, and prosperous regional sea.
Translated by Mai Huong