Vietnam condemns the desecration of its national flag in a protest in front of the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines on Tuesday, Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a press conference in Hanoi on Thursday.

The red flag with a yellow star in the center is the national flag of Vietnam, Hang affirmed.

The act of tearing the national flag of Vietnam is an insult to the Vietnamese people and must be strongly condemned, Hang said while answering questions about Vietnam’s response to the protest in front of the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines where a group of Filipinos tore the Vietnamese flag.

Vietnam demanded the Philippines strictly deal with the case and take effective measures to prevent similar acts which could affect the thriving strategic partnership between the two countries, the spokesperson added. 

Vietnam and the Philippines are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.

The two countries established their diplomatic ties in July 1976 and upgraded the relationship to a strategic partnership in 2015.

Their bilateral relations have developed strongly over the past time with two-way trade reaching nearly US$8 billion last year, the highest-ever.

During a visit to Vietnam by Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Enrique Manalo on Tuesday and Wednesday, he and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh agreed to bolster the cooperation in national defense and security, especially at sea.

The Vietnamese government leader called for the early establishment of more legal frameworks for the two sides’ cooperation in security.

He also suggested the two sides strengthen the collaboration in trade to reach bilateral trade of $10 billion, and weigh removing unnecessary barriers to support each other in ensuring food security.

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