A Vietnamese coast guard ship arrived in Manila on August 5 for a goodwill visit. The visit aims to enhance maritime cooperation amidst growing tensions with China in the South China Sea.

This visit marks a key milestone as the Vietnamese Coast Guard prepares to conduct its first-ever joint exercises with the Philippines.

The scheduled drills on August 9 will be a historic collaboration between the two Southeast Asian nations. Both have staked claims in the South China Sea and have faced confrontations with Beijing over the contested waters. 

Vietnam’s 90-meter ship, CSB 8002, received a warm welcome at the port of Manila. Over the next five days, the ship will engage in training exercises with the Philippines’ 83-meter offshore patrol vessel, BRP Gabriela Silang.

During their stay in Manila, the coast guard forces from both countries will hold discussions and tour each other’s ships. 

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They will conduct joint search and rescue drills and fire and explosion contingency exercises in Manila Bay, located on the western coast of the northern Philippines facing the South China Sea.

The drills coincide with a significant political transition in Vietnam following the death of Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the succession of Vietnamese President To Lam as party leader on August 3. Officials view these exercises as crucial for strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing collective security.

Rear Admiral Armand Balilo, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson, noted the importance of the drills, stating, “This is important because we’re building partnership and we’re showing the world that two countries who have problems in the West Philippine Sea can agree on something.” 

The Vietnamese Coast Guard’s visit is the result of an agreement for “capacity building” between the two maritime forces, established in January this year during Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s state visit to Hanoi. 

Commodore Algier Ricafrente, PCG deputy chief of staff for international affairs, noted that the joint exercises are being conducted to prepare for potential future incidents requiring cooperation between the two nations.

Further, Col. Hoang Quoc Dat, head of the Vietnamese Coast Guard delegation, highlighted the significance of their Manila port call in his speech, describing it as a step towards strengthening the “cooperative relationship for mutual benefit” between Vietnam and the Philippines.

Manila & Hanoi Strengthen Military Ties

Geopolitical and defense experts have lauded the recent cooperation between Manila and Hanoi despite their competing claims in the South China Sea, known locally as the West Philippine Sea by the Philippines and the East Sea by Vietnam.

China claims sovereignty over the entire South China Sea. However, an international tribunal, in response to a case filed by Manila in 2013, effectively rejected these claims.

Manila has faced significant hostility from Beijing, the most recent and severe incident occurring on June 17 at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal. This confrontation involved violent actions by the China Coast Guard (CCG), resulting in the finger amputation of a Philippine Navy personnel member. 

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Similarly, Hanoi has encountered water cannon assaults from the CCG in past years but continues to assert its claims through aggressive island reclamation efforts on its occupied territories.

The strengthening of military ties between the Philippines and Vietnam is viewed as a positive development amid Chinese aggression.

Last month, in a separate goodwill gesture, Vietnamese and Philippine naval forces engaged in volleyball, football, and tug-of-war games on Vietnam-occupied Southwest Cay in the contentious Spratly archipelago, as reported by officials from both nations.

In June, Vietnam expressed its willingness to engage in talks with the Philippines to resolve their overlapping claims to the undersea continental shelf in the South China Sea. China, meanwhile, has long asserted control over much of the seaway and remains determined to defend its territorial interests. 

Although Beijing has not commented on the joint exercises between the Philippines and Vietnam, Vietnamese maritime analyst Viet Hoang noted that China “won’t be pleased” by this cooperation. 

He explained that “Beijing is always cautious about Hanoi’s expanding ties with other regional countries, especially in the South China Sea where Vietnam and China are also having a dispute.” 

However, last week, following Hanoi’s announcement of its first joint coast guard exercises with the Philippines, a Chinese WZ-10 UAV flew close to Vietnam’s coast with its tracker activated, according to a South China Sea research group. 

That marked the first time in the group’s five years of monitoring that such an operation was made visible by Beijing. The WZ-10 aircraft originated from Hainan Island and returned after following a route approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Vietnam’s coastline to the southern city of Nha Trang.

Many media outlets and internet users interpreted the drone flight as a message to Hanoi. Despite this, Hoang added that while China is unlikely to publicly protest, it may communicate its concerns through unofficial channels.

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