(Manila) The Philippine and Vietnamese coast guards will hold joint exercises for the first time this week, Manila said Monday, as the two countries are locked in a dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea.
China claims most of the strategic waterway, although an international tribunal has ruled that there is no legal basis for this claim. The Philippines, Vietnam and several other countries claim various islands, islets, reefs and shoals.
The 91-meter-long Vietnamese vessel CSB 8002 will conduct joint maneuvers with the 83-meter Philippine patrol vessel Gabriela Silang near Manila Bay on Friday, ending a five-day voyage, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Armando Balilo said at the Vietnamese vessel’s arrival ceremony.
“This is important because it shows that two countries with issues related to the West Philippine Sea can reach an agreement,” Balilo said, using the Filipino term for parts of the South China Sea claimed by Manila.
The exercises will focus on search and rescue, as well as fire and explosion prevention, the spokesman said.
Chinese and Philippine ships have already clashed in the sea that borders the Pacific, where billions of dollars of trade pass through each year.
Rising tensions are fueling fears of a conflict that could involve Manila’s ally the United States.
During a visit by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to Vietnam in January, the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in the South China Sea and “peacefully resolve incidents at sea.”
Vietnam’s Defense Ministry said last week that its ship’s stopover in Manila had “profound political significance.”
This mission is an opportunity to “promote global cooperation [et] to improve law enforcement capabilities at sea […] in order to contribute to the maintenance of peace, stability, security and safety in the maritime area concerned and in the region,” he continued in a statement.