Vietnam and the Philippines reached an agreement to enhance collaboration among their coastguards with the aim of averting adverse events in the South China Sea during a state visit to Hanoi by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday.
Both Southeast Asian nations have conflicting claims over specific sections of the South China Sea, the vast majority of which is claimed by China.
The two security memoranda of understanding covered “incident prevention in the South China Sea” and “maritime cooperation” among coastguards, according to a Vietnamese official.
Hanoi and Manila have encountered Chinese coastguards before, but over the past year, China and the Philippines have clashed frequently, straining relations.
Marcos stated during a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh that the objective of the maritime cooperation agreement is to pair the two Coast Guards in personnel and ship exchanges, capacity building, and training in order to strengthen their ability to conduct operations jointly.
“The South China Sea continues to be an area of dispute.” Marcos stated this during the meeting.