Philippines and Vietnam announce historic first joint coast guard exercise

• The Philippines and Vietnam will launch their first joint Coast Guard exercise in Manila Bay on August 9.
• The exercise is part of a commitment to enhance maritime cooperation between the two Southeast Asian nations.
• The exercise is part of a larger effort to de-escalate the South China Sea dispute, which China claims.

The Philippines and Vietnam will launch their first-ever joint coast guard exercise in Manila Bay this week, fulfilling a commitment to enhance maritime cooperation. The drill on August 9 marks the first such exercise between the two Southeast Asian nations, which have competing claims over parts of the South China Sea and have encountered China’s coast guard in the disputed waters.

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

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

It will conduct training exercises with the Philippines’ 83-meter offshore patrol vessel, BRP Gabriela Silang, on Friday, focusing on search and rescue, as well as fire and explosion prevention, according to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) officials.

“Despite 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 within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippines and Vietnam have each filed separate claims with the United Nations to extend their continental shelves, seeking recognition of their entitlements beyond their 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zones in the South China Sea.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, including areas claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. This strategic waterway, through which $3 trillion worth of trade passes annually, is believed to be rich in oil, natural gas deposits, and fish stocks.

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