Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (right) and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (Source: AFP) Bangkok (VNA) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte committed to working together Thailand and with other concerned sides to boost maritime cooperation and maintain peace, stability at sea at his talks with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha on March 21 in Bangkok, Thailand.
At a press conference following the talks, the leaders emphasised the need for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) in 2002 and complete the framework for a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) this year.
Both sides agreed on maintaining peace, stability and security as well as respecting freedom of navigation and over-flight in the East Sea for the sake of all countries in and outside the region.
The host leader said Thailand wishes the East Sea would be turned into the sea of peace, stability and sustainable development.
The two leaders discussed cooperation in security, especially the combat against drugs traffickers, as well as measures to promote bilateral trade and investment.
They also witnessed the signing of three cooperation agreements covering animal breeding, tourism, and science and technology.
Duterte arrived in Bangkok on March 20 for a three-day official visit, the first official one since he took office in June, 2016.
He is scheduled to meet Thai businesses and the Philippine community of 14,000 people in the host country.
Thailand and the Philippines established diplomatic ties in June 1949. The latter is the fifth largest trade partner of Thailand in ASEAN.
The two-way trade value between the two nations exceeded 8.3 billion USD in 2016, up 9.22 percent from 2015. Thailand earned 5.8 billion USD from export to the Philippines.-VNA
