Vietnam and the Philippines yesterday agreed to boost cooperation between their coast guards and to prevent untoward incidents in the South China Sea, in an announcement during a state visit to Hanoi by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The two Southeast Asian nations have competing claims over some parts of the South China Sea, a conduit for US$3 trillion of annual ship-borne trade that China claims almost in its entirety.
The two memoranda of understanding on security covered “incident prevention in the South China Sea” and “maritime cooperation” among coast guards, said a Vietnamese official who announced the deals during a formal ceremony at the presidential palace.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The agreements in Hanoi could risk angering Beijing, especially if they pave the way for compromises on disputed claims. China tends to view progress in the resolution of border disputes among other claimants with skepticism.
Both Hanoi and Manila have had run-ins with China’s coast guard, but altercations have been frequent in the past year between the vessels of China and US ally the Philippines, adding strain to deteriorating relations.
The maritime cooperation deal aims to establish a comprehensive partnership between the two coast guards on capacity building, training, and personnel and ship exchanges to improve their ability to run operations together, according to Marcos’ remarks at a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
“The South China Sea remains a point of contention,” Marcos said at the meeting. “We are firm in defending our sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction against any provocations, but at the same time, we are also seeking to address these issues with China through peaceful dialogue and consultations as two equal sovereign states.”
Before meeting Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, Marcos said Vietnam was “the sole strategic partner of the Philippines” in Southeast Asia, adding that maritime cooperation was the foundation of that relationship.
“The world and regional situation is evolving in a rapid and complicated manner, and therefore we need to unite and cooperate more closely,” Chinh said, adding that Marcos’ visit would help to boost bilateral relations.
Vietnam, one of the world’s biggest rice exporters, also sealed agreements with the Philippines, a top importer of the grain, covering rice trade and agriculture cooperation.
On his two-day visit to Hanoi, Marcos is meeting Vietnamese leaders, but not Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, according to official schedules, in what would be Trong’s third consecutive absence from meetings with visiting leaders this month.
Before meeting Vietnamese political leaders yesterday, Marcos met Pham Nhat Vuong, the head of Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, on Monday.
The company yesterday said that its electric vehicle unit VinFast would open a business network in the Philippines.
Marcos said the Philippines could help produce batteries for electric vehicles, thanks to its reserves of cobalt, copper and nickel, Vingroup said in a statement.
Marcos said the two nations are aiming to increase bilateral trade to US$10 billion from US$7 billion.
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