The Philippines and Vietnam agree to expand cooperation in the South China Sea

31-01-2024

Yasemin Beyza Uçar

South and East Asia Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

The Philippines and Vietnam signed on the 30th of January 2024 an agreement to avoid incidents in the South China Sea. This will most likely widen cooperation between their coast guards in a growing alliance which might not be well-received by China since they claim almost all of the Sea. 

The Philippines and Vietnam are struggling with disputes over the islands in the South China Sea, but the two countries came together for a much more significant issue, which is China’s spread-out claims over 80 percent of the Sea’s territory.

During President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s visit to Hanoi (Vietnam), diplomatic improvements, military developments, and the formation of agreements were shaped to strengthen the cooperation between Vietnam and the Philippines. The focus of the agreement was the enhancement of sharing information and exchanging training between the Vietnamese and Philippine militaries. Both sides agreed to have a main deal on rice to increase trade and investment and the deal between the Philippines and Vietnam is accompanied by a five-year trade commitment on food security.

The Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that this agreement is based on mutual trust as well as confidence between the two parties. Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong also agreed to improve current maritime cooperation mechanisms, particularly the Joint Commission on Maritime and Ocean Affairs at the deputy. 

Each year, an estimated total of five trillion dollars passes over the South China Sea due to international trade, which creates tension between the Philippines and China. Therefore, the deal between the Philippines and Vietnam might irritate Beijing, especially if they pave the way to negotiate between the signatories on their own challenging claims. 

Sources and further readings:

Aniruddha Ghosal and Jim Gomez, ‘Philippines and Vietnam agree to expand cooperation in South China Sea, which Beijing also claims’. AP. (30 January 2024). https://apnews.com/article/vietnam-philippines-south-china-sea-agreement-marcos-263dcb4cdbf1ca2c59c3dd1eaf04a1d1 accessed 31 January 2024.

An Hai, ‘Vietnam, Philippines Sign Deals on South China Sea Security’. VOA. (30 January 2024). https://www.voanews.com/a/vietnam-philippines-sign-deals-on-south-china-sea-security/7463852.html accessed 31 January 2024.

Aljazeera, ‘Vietnam, Philippines sign deals on security in disputed South China Sea’. Al Jazeera. (30 January 2024). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/30/vietnam-philippines-sign-deals-on-security-in-disputed-south-china-sea accessed 4 February 2024.