The UP Asian Center, in partnership with VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam, will hold the online forum "Philippines-Vietnam: Neighbors in Dialogue" on 17 July 2026, 2:00 PM, Manila Time (1:00 PM, Hanoi Time), online via Zoom. The event is free and open to the public, but signing up for a (free) Zoom account is required.
ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM
This online forum brings together scholars from Vietnam and the Philippines to discuss the past, present, and future of Philippines-Vietnam relations. It coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of formal relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in July 1976. Despite the relatively recent formal relations, the ties between the two countries and their people date back to the distant past. Notable historical artifacts that demonstrate the historical connections between the Philippines and Vietnam include the numerous Vietnamese earthenware artifacts from the Pandandan shipwreck off the coast of southern Palawan, dated mid-15th century. At present, the two countries share significant economic and political interests. Bilateral relations have grown stronger since Vietnam’s joining the ASEAN in 1995. This forum seeks to highlight not only both historical and present connectivities but also their shared aspirations as sovereign countries amid the multiple global crises.
PANEL 1: Area and Cultural Studies in the Philippines and Vietnam
Moderator: JOCELYN O. CELERO, Ph.D.
Professor and Assistant to the Dean for External and Cultural Affairs
Asian Center, UP Diliman
Teaching and Researching Philippine Literature in Vietnam: Initial Observations
PHẠM PHƯƠNG CHI
Associate Professor, Institute of Literature, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences
Lecturer, Southeast Asian Studies, FOS-USSH, VNU Hanoi
Pham, Phuong Chi Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Senior Researcher at the Institute of Literature, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences. She received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Riverside. Her research focuses on comparative literature, Southeast Asian literature, postcolonial studies, ecocriticism, nationalism, and Vietnamese literature in transnational contexts. She has published widely with Routledge, Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and other international academic venues.
Restructuring Traditional Craft Villages in the Context of Urbanization Based on a Cultural Industry-Oriented Approach: The Case of Hanoi, Vietnam
ĐÀO THỊ LAN ANH
Lecturer, Southeast Asian Studies, FOS-USSH, VNU Hanoi
Dao, Thi Lan Anh graduated with a major in Korean and English Language from Hanoi University. She received a Master's degree from Shinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand in 2017. She taught Thai language and conducted research on Thai studies at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies. Currently, she is working on her doctoral dissertation entitled "Restructuring Traditional Craft Villages in the Context of Urbanization Oriented Towards Cultural Industries: A Comparative Case Study of Hanoi, Bangkok, and Seoul."
Anthologizing Defiance: The Vietnam and Gaza wars in Poetry
NOEL CHRISTIAN A. MORATILLA, Ph.D.
Professor and Dean, Asian Center, UP Diliman
Dr. Noel Christian A. Moratilla is the Dean and a Professor at the Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. He earned his Ph.D. in Philippine Studies in 2015, after completing an MA in Education from the same university. Before he was appointed Dean, he served as Deputy Director of the UP System Office of International Linkages. He is an advocate for the rights of Filipino migrant workers and promotes the alignment of internationalization initiatives with national priorities. Dr. Moratilla's academic interests lie in resistance literature, Marxist and postcolonial theory, testimonial narratives, and diaspora studies.
PANEL 2: Philippines-Vietnam Cultural Connections
Moderator: ARIEL C. LOPEZ, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Assistant to the Dean for Research and Extension
Asian Center, UP Diliman
Colonial cities in Southeast Asia: Manila and Saigon
NGUYỄN THỊ MINH NGUYỆT
Lecturer, Southeast Asian Studies, FOS-USSH, VNU Hanoi
Nguyen, Thi Minh Nguyet is a Ph.D. Student and a lecturer of history and researcher of Southeast Asian history at the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. She received her Advanced Master's (2014), and her dissertation was on the Foundation and Development of Manila (Philippines) under the Spanish Regime (1571-1898). Her research interests include Early-modern Asian-European interactions, early-modern globalization and Philippine integration, and Southeast Asian Colonial Urban History.
Filipinos in the Cochinchina Expedition of 1858-1862: The Elusive Case of Padre Gregorio Ballesteros
ALDOUS TRACY RUBIO
Teaching Associate, Department of History and Philosophy
University of the Philippines- Baguio
Aldous Tracy F. Rubio is a Teaching Associate at the Department of History and Philosophy of the University of the Philippines Baguio and a Master of Arts in History student specializing in Ethnohistory and Local History. Trained in both Anthropology and Philosophy, his research interests include ethnohistory, regional and local history, material culture, and church history in Northern Luzon and the early colonial period, as well as the connections and exchanges that link Northern Luzon to wider regional, national, and global histories. He is particularly interested in tracing the historical significance of places mentioned in old documents — from church ruins and old place names to the (hi)stories of the people who inhabit them.
Maritime Networks and Heritage Fusion: Interwoven Cultural Imprints of Vietnam and the Philippines throughout History
NGUYỄN TRẦN TIẾN, Ph.D.
Deputy Dean and Senior Lecturer, FOS-USSH, VNU Hanoi
Nguyen, Tran Tien, Ph.D., is a Senior Lecturer and the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH), Vietnam National University, Hanoi. He earned his Bachelor's degree in History (2002) and Master's degree in Buddhist Studies (2004) from Delhi University, India, before completing his Ph.D. in History at Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, India, in 2013. He has also served as a visiting researcher at the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies in South Korea.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
This lecture is organized by the UP Asian Center and the VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi, Vietnam.
For inquiries, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 891-8500 loc. 3586.