The Indo-Pacific has been more volatile and tense than ever in the recent years. China’s increasing aggression has concerned all countries, especially the smaller ones in East and Southeast Asia. They have all sought to increase their capabilities, undermine Chinese assertiveness through various tactics, form alliances, or even seek protection from the United States.
Vietnam and the Philippines are two such countries and have the most overlapping claims with China in the South China Sea.
The Philippines and Vietnam are now set to sign a landmark defence agreement expected later in the year and enhance their strategic partnership particularly in the maritime domain. This reflects their growing bilateral cooperation amid shared concerns.
Today on August 30, General Phan Van Giang, the Vietnamese Defence Minister was in Manila. He paid a courtesy visit to the Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The President had earlier in the year hailed Hanoi as “the sole strategic partner of the Philippines” in ASEAN. But more importantly, Giang and his counterpart from Philippines, Gilberto Teodoro signed letters of intent (LOI) to strengthen engagements on disaster response and military medicine.
After the signing, Department of National Defence of the host country also released a statement stating that they had agreed to explore more possibilities for collaboration on maritime security, cyber security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, military medicine, peacekeeping operations, and defence industry.
Both the ministers affirmed their commitment to a rules-based international order and international law. They hoped to promote sustainable peace, principled security, and regional stability. They assured that their bilateral issues will not prevent cooperation. In June for instance, Vietnam offered to negotiate for peaceful settlement with the Philippines over their overlapping continental shelf claims. A month later in July, soldiers from both sides took part in various activities together like football, karaoke and discussion of challenge. Earlier this month, they conducted their first joint coast guard exercise in Manila Bay, which faces the South China Sea.
Marcos Jr. credited Giang’s visit to have “elevated Philippines-Vietnam relations to greater heights” through on a post shared on his Facebook account.
Many experts believe that growing defence cooperation between the two countries would benefit both and is essential. As a retired Supreme Court associate justice Antonio Carpio noted, a joint patrol in Vietnam’s EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) and the Philippines’ EEZ will send a strong assertion of each country’s sovereign rights and both of them have a common enemy grabbing territories and maritime zones.
