The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) are eager to finalize a maritime security deal which would help both countries in protecting their mutual interests in the region.
This was revealed during the courtesy visit of Republic of Vietnam's Standing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu at the PCG headquarters in Manila on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
Vice Adm. Allan Victor Dela Vega, PCG deputy commandant for administration, welcomed the Vietnamese official and other delegates from the Vietnam Embassy including Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Lai Thai Binh.
PCG spokesperson Rear Adm. Armando Balilo said the officials discussed updates on the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two coast guards, which the PCG and the VCG have been working on since 2018.
"The MOU aims to enhance the strategic partnership and cooperation between the PCG and VCG toward the promotion, preservation, and protection of their mutual interest in the Southeast Asian region," Balilo said in a statement.
Both Manila and Hanoi have competing maritime claims in the Spratly Islands, locally known as Kalayaan Island Group, in the South China Sea.
In May 2023, the PCG installed floating buoys in five areas in the Spratly Islands namely Patag (Flat) Island, Balagtas (Irving) Reef, Kota (Loaita) Island, Panata Island (Lankiam Cay), and Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef, which was heavily opposed by Vietnam.
According to Balilo, the meeting between the PCG and Vietnamese officials provided an avenue for the Philippine side to explain comprehensively its current engagement and maritime security operations in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) to avoid potential conflict.
The meeting, which took place ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s state visit to Vietnam next week, is the latest in a series of engagements by the Philippines with "like-minded" countries amid a heated territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea.