26-1-2024 (MANILA) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines is poised to enhance partnerships in the region as he prepares to sign a cooperation agreement between the Philippine and Vietnamese coast guards, amid ongoing tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea.
Scheduled for a brief visit to Vietnam starting Monday, Marcos will engage in discussions on maritime issues with Vietnamese leaders, announced Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Aileen Mendiola-Rau during a briefing on Friday.
The upcoming coast guard agreement will encompass marine environmental protection and facilitate search and rescue operations for Filipino and Vietnamese fishermen, disclosed Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Armand Balilo in a phone interview on Thursday. “We aim to establish a coast guard hotline to enhance coordination,” he affirmed.
Mendiola-Rau reiterated on Friday that the coast guard cooperation would explore potential joint activities between the two nations.
While the Philippines and Vietnam have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, where China asserts extensive sovereignty, Balilo clarified that the forthcoming cooperation deal between their coast guards is not directed at China.
Marcos’s visit to Vietnam coincides with ongoing tensions between China and the Philippines, marked by numerous confrontations between their vessels in the disputed waters in recent months. It also follows Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Hanoi, during which he urged Vietnam to prevent external forces from exacerbating tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.
Vietnam stands as the Philippines’ sole strategic partner in Southeast Asia, with bilateral relations tracing back to 1976.
Commenting on the potential impact of the agreement, Huong Le Thu, Deputy Director of the Asia Program at the International Crisis Group, noted that enhancing cooperation between the coast guards of both countries, along with increased research and information exchange, could enhance transparency and counter grey zone warfare in the disputed waters.
Additionally, both nations are negotiating an agreement “to ensure the continued supply of rice to the Philippines,” Mendiola-Rau stated. Vietnam remains a key supplier of rice to the Philippines, where rice inflation surged to its highest level in nearly 15 years in December. Marcos will also engage with business leaders in Vietnam as part of efforts to bolster trade ties, she added.
