Philippines and Vietnam to sign defence agreement
Recasts, adds details throughout
By Mikhail Flores
MANILA, Aug 30 (Reuters) -The Philippines and Vietnam will sign a defence cooperation agreement on Friday, the office of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said, a significant step by two countries that have long opposed China's actions in the South China Sea.
Vietnamese Defence Minister Phan Van Giang was in Manila on Friday to hold talks with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, and he paid a courtesy call earlier in the day on Marcos.
"We now talk about defence cooperation, security cooperation, maritime cooperation, and certainly, on the area of trade as well," Marcos was quoted as saying in a statement, which did not specify details of the defence agreement.
"Your visit, I think, will serve as further impetus, further push to increase that – the depth and the range of our relationship."
The agreement comes at a time of simmering tension in the South China Sea and international concern about an escalation, and over the conduct of China's vast fleet of coastguard and its activities in the exclusive economic zones of its neighbours.
Vietnam has a tricky balancing act of opposing actions by China that it deems infringements on its sovereignty, while needing to maintain close relations with its giant neighbour, forged over decades by their ruling Communist Parties.
Vietnam's decision to enter into the agreement comes at a time when U.S. defence ally the Philippines and China are sparring almost every week over the South China Sea, a row that has raged for more than a year.
China claims sovereignty over almost all of the strategic waterway.
Despite their overlapping claims in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, where Vietnam and the Philippines each occupies atolls and reefs, both countries have expressed desire to work together and tackle disputes.
Coast guards of the two countries earlier this month held their first-ever joint exercises in Manila, simulating fire-fighting drills and search-and-rescue exercises.
That came after Marcos visited Hanoi in January and signed deals that covered "incident prevention in the South China Sea" and "maritime cooperation".
Reporting by Mikhail Flores, Neil Jerome Morales and Karen Lema; Editing by Martin Petty
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
