A Vietnam Coast Guard ship arrived in Manila yesterday for a four-day goodwill visit and joint exercises as the two nations attempt to put aside their own territorial disputes in the face of rising tensions with China over control of key features in the South China Sea.
The Philippines and Vietnam are among the most vocal critics of China’s increasingly hostile actions in the disputed waters, a key global trade and security route.
The neighboring Southeast Asian nations themselves have overlapping claims in the busy sea passage, along with Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei, and the disputes are regarded as an Asian flashpoint and a delicate fault line in the US-China regional rivalry.
Photo: AFP
As the host’s coast guard personnel waved Philippine and Vietnamese flags, and a brass band played under the morning sun at Manila’s harbor, a Vietnam Coast Guard ship with 80 crew docked. Some of its officers saluted from the lower and upper decks of the 90m white ship.
While in Manila, the two coast guards are expected to hold talks and tour each other’s ships. They are to hold joint search-and-rescue drills along with fire and explosion contingency drills in Manila Bay, on the western coast of northern Philippines facing the South China Sea.
“This is a good template, a good way to de-escalate the situation,” Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Rear Admiral Armand Balilo said. “This shows that even rival claimants can have an opportunity to nurture a relationship.”
Colonel Hoang Quoc Dat, who headed the Vietnam Coast Guard’s delegation, said in a speech that the Manila port call was a way to strengthen the two nations’ “cooperative relationship for mutual benefit.”
“This will promote and enhance the efficiency of information sharing and the coordination in maritime law enforcement, in accordance with international law,” he said, adding that such friendly collaboration contributes to “the preservation and protection of the region’s maritime security and safety.”
In a separate goodwill engagement last month, Vietnamese and Philippine navy forces played volleyball, soccer and tug-of-war in the Vietnam-occupied Southwest Cay (Nanzih Reef, 南子礁) in the South China Sea’s hotly contested Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), according to Vietnamese and Philippine officials.
Vietnam in June said that it was ready to hold talks with the Philippines to settle their overlapping claims to the undersea continental shelf in the South China Sea, while China has long claimed much of the entire seaway and vowed to defend its territorial interests at all costs.
After a violent June 17 confrontation in the Philippine-occupied Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) between Chinese forces — armed with knives, an axe and improvised spears — and Philippine Navy personnel, China and the Philippines reached a temporary agreement last month to prevent further clashes that could spark a major armed conflict in the South China Sea.
A week after the deal was forged, Philippine government personnel transported food and other supplies to Manila’s territorial ship outpost at the shoal, which has been closely guarded by Chinese coast guard and navy ships, and no confrontations were reported.
However, the Philippines has vowed to press on with efforts to strengthen its territorial forces and defense, and expand security alliances with Asian and Western nations.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS