The Philippines and Vietnam have launched their first-ever joint coast guard training exercises in the South China Sea where the countries share territorial disputes with each other as well as China.
On Monday, the Vietnamese coast guard patrol ship CSB 8002, with 80 crew members aboard, arrived in Manila ahead of the scheduled drills set to begin Friday.
The joint exercises aim to bolster maritime cooperation between the two countries in the South China Sea—a region China largely claims as its own, despite overlapping claims by the Philippines, Vietnam, and other neighbors.
Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, commander of the Philippine Coast Guard, welcomed the Vietnamese vessel, emphasizing the importance of cooperation and mutual understanding.
“This partnership is a step towards enhancing our maritime law enforcement capabilities,” Gavan said in a statement released by the Philippine Coast Guard.
Colonel Hoang Quoc Dat, vice commander of the Vietnamese Coast Guard’s Region 2, outlined the scope of the exercises, which include multiple maritime security operations.
“This will promote and enhance the efficiency of information sharing and the coordination in maritime law enforcement in accordance with international law,” Col. Dat said, reported Philippine news outlet the Inquirer.
Both countries are engaged in ongoing territorial disputes with China.
These disputes have been marked by confrontations and diplomatic tensions, as China asserts sovereignty over much of the South China Sea, including areas within the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines and Vietnam.
At least one-fifth of global trade has been estimated to pass through the strategic waterway each year.
The joint drills, which involve the Philippine offshore patrol vessel BRP Gabriela Silang, will focus on key areas such as search and rescue, and fire and explosion prevention.
“In spite of the rivalry, the Philippines and Vietnam are claimants on the West Philippine Sea. It shows we can work together,” Reuters quoted Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Armando Balilo as saying.
The Philippine and Vietnamese coast guards did not immediately respond to written requests for comment.
Philippine pushback against China’s increasingly assertive activities near hotspots in this zone have resulted in several incidents this year, testing that country’s Mutual Defense Treaty with the U.S.
In July, the Philippines and China reported reaching an understanding over Philippine supply missions to a disputed military outpost at contested reef Second Thomas Shoal, though both capitals have signaled differing interpretations of the agreement.
In addition to encroachments by Chinese military vessels, Vietnam has been rankled by the baseline China unilaterally imposed in the Gulf of Tonkin, which borders both countries.
Viet Hoang, a Vietnamese maritime expert, commented on the Vietnam-Philippines drills.
“China won’t be pleased by this week’s coast guard exercises,” Hoang said in an interview with Radio Free Asia. “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, he said China understands Vietnam’s foreign policy and would be unlikely to condemn the exercises publicly.
Vietnam and the Philippines also have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, where both have applied to the U.N. to extend their continental shelf beyond the currently recognized 200 nautical miles (230 miles).
However, Manila’s foreign ministry said the two would continue seeking a “mutually beneficial situation” in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Despite territorial tensions, Vietnam and China held their own coast guard drill in December 2023, when a Vietnamese patrol ship made a port call in Guangzhou, China. Their coast guards also patrolled together in the Gulf of Tonkin in April.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese embassy in the Philippines via written request for comment.
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