Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At a Dinner hosted by Le Duc Anh, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Delivered in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 28, 1994]

Prospects for peace
and prosperity

MY JOURNEY to Vietnam is the first by a Filipino President, yet this visit takes its meaning from more than just this historical detail.

Our countries share many things—geography, ethnicity, history. They resemble each other in area and population. Our cultural affinities date back to at least a thousand years. And in our separate struggles against colonialism, our peoples mirror each other in both their trials and triumphs.

For much of their history, Vietnamese and Filipinos have had to fight repeatedly—not one, but several occupying forces in their territory. At the time your people were fighting off the French from 1858 to 1883, our forefathers too were stirring to the call of nationhood—an awakening that led to our nationalist revolution of 1896 against Spain.

Bridge building between our peoples

Left to ourselves, we would have easily discovered our affinities and built bridges between our peoples. But history erected barriers between us.

My delegation has come here to do its bit of bridge building—to help surmount these barriers that history has interposed between us.

And this we can do, Mr. President, by reaching back to the ideals that animated our peoples in their fights for freedom, and by reaching forward to the bright future that awaits our countries in this new era in Southeast Asia.

Part of our mission is to pay tribute—on behalf of our people—to your epic struggle to reunify your homeland. No matter how many times the world may turn over, the Vietnam War will always be part of the annals of courage, tenacity of purpose, and love of country which are the common heritage of mankind.

I can speak with some knowledge about that time because I served in Tay Ninh Province 28 years ago as chief operations officer of the Philippine Civic Action Group. Ours was a medical and engineering battalion—our mission was to build and to heal—but we nonetheless saw—at close quarters—the bitter conflict tearing at the guts of your country.

And we saw the heroism of the Vietnamese people—on both sides of the political divide that existed then.

A Vietnam engaged in the works of peace

Today, we come upon a different Vietnam—a Vietnam engaged in the works of peace, in a region steadily learning the ways of cooperation and community.

We see a nation turning its energies to building and creation—just as vigorously, as courageously and as devotedly as it had fought for its freedom.

We see a nation taking part in the accelerating movement toward consolidation of our region—in Southeast Asia’s historic transition from division to solidarity.

The foundations for the friendship between our two countries were laid when we established diplomatic relations soon after the reunification of Vietnam. These relations were given substance and strength by a joint communiqué issued in 1978 by President Marcos and Premier Pham Van Dong. And they were reaffirmed by Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet and President Aquino in Manila in 1991.

By these solemn undertakings, we pledged peace between us resolving to settle peacefully any disputes between us and to cooperate for the common good of our peoples. This pledge I reaffirm, Mr. President, on behalf of my Government.

This commitment, this pledge goes with the flow of history—especially the flow of history in our region—where nations now seek their security not in military alliances or the accumulation of arms, but in consultation, friendship and economic development.

This earnest of our resolve matches the spirit of East Asia today.

Vietnam has not only wholeheartedly joined this historical trend; it has given impetus to it. Manila was privileged to be the site two years ago of Vietnam’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and Vietnam’s acceptance as an observer in ASEAN. It was on that same occasion in Manila that ASEAN issued the Manila Declaration on the South China Sea, which Vietnam immediately endorsed.

Vietnam’s commitment to ASEAN’s purposes

These steps underscore Vietnam’s commitment to ASEAN’s spirit and purposes. And they show the way toward Vietnam’s entry into the Association as a full member. We in the Philippines have made clear our position: the sooner Vietnam enters ASEAN the better for ASEAN and for Southeast Asia.

While we await this event’s coming to pass, we welcome Vietnam’s participation in ASEAN’s cooperative activities, including its participation in the ASEAN Regional Forum.

In the South China Sea—where both our countries are involved—attention needs to be focused, not on mutual suspicion, but on cooperative effort that will build mutual confidence and trust.

For this purpose, Mr. President, I propose the establishment of a Joint Study Commission on the South China Sea to undertake wide-ranging studies on the Spratlys issue. The commission can explore such ideas as demilitarization of the area, a freeze of the current situation, and cooperative development ventures among countries concerned.

We can start this initiative by our own joint effort. But the overall objective must be to involve all claimant countries, so that we can have a reliable mechanism for continuing consultations, and for lessening tensions.

Economic cooperation

On economic cooperation, we laid the basis for enduring ties with the agreements forged by our countries from 1978 to 1993. Now, it is our opportunity to embark on programs and projects that will effectively expand trade, investments and technical exchange between us.

The growth of bilateral trade and investments in recent years is encouraging. But it pales beside what is now within our capacity to build.

With respect to technical exchange, we are probably best equipped to help in the development of human resource—in education, primary health care and skills training. Our experience has been fruitful in vocational training, agricultural education, basic literacy and teacher training.

Planting a tree of friendship

In a famous message to your people, the revered Ho Chi Minh wrote: “Only when the root is firm can the tree live long.”

Mr. President, by our endeavors together, I believe we are planting such a tree—because we are taking care to ensure that it stands on firm roots.

The cordial talks between us and between our delegations, and my discussion with General Secretary Du Muoi have strengthened me in this belief.

We have shared our views on the security and economy of East Asia and found them compatible.

We have identified ways in which our two countries can advance the commercial and other economic relations between them.

We have looked into joint activities for the promotion of investments and tourism.

We have found distinct areas for cooperation in agricultural production and research, in science and technology, in public health and social welfare.

Now we are ready to embark on concrete cooperative activities.

We look forward to discussing all these in detail tomorrow, with His Excellency Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet.

Finally, we look forward to seeing more of your beautiful country during the remainder of our journey. By the time we return home, I’m certain we will have expanded—and moved forward—the partnership between our countries and our peoples; and the solidarity, stability and prosperity of our region.