Philippines, Vietnam to hold first-ever joint coast guard exercise

The Philippines and Vietnam will kick off their first-ever joint coast guard exercise in the Manila Bay this week, in line with a commitment by both countries to boost maritime cooperation.

The Aug. 9 drill is the first between the two Southeast Asian nations, which have competing claims over some parts of the South China Sea and have had run-ins with China’s coast guard in the disputed waterway.

During a state visit to Hanoi by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in January, Manila and Vietnam signed two agreements to boost cooperation between their coast guards and to prevent untoward incidents in the South China Sea.

Vietnam’s 90-meter ship CSB 8002 arrived at the port of Manila on Monday for a five-day port call.

It will carry out training exercises with the Philippines’ 83-meter offshore patrol vessel, BRP Gabriela Silang, on Friday that will focus on search and rescue and fire and explosion prevention, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) officials said.

“In spite of the rivalry, (Philippines and Vietnam) are also claimants on the West Philippine Sea, it shows we can work together,” PCG Spokesperson Armando Balilo said. “Hopefully this will start a template that can be used even with China to de-escalate the situation.”

Manila refers to the waters inside its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippines and Vietnam have filed separate claims with the United Nations to an extended continental shelf to recognize their entitlements beyond their 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Portions of the strategic waterway, where $3 trillion worth of trade passes annually, are believed to be rich in oil and natural gas deposits, as well as fish stocks.