PH, Vietnam to sign maritime cooperation deal before month ends – PCG

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 23) — The Philippines and Vietnam are expected to sign an agreement upgrading cooperation between their coast guards when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visits the neighboring country next week.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo told CNN Philippines on Tuesday that the PCG and its Vietnamese counterpart will sign the bilateral deal during Marcos’ official trip to Hanoi.

Balilo confirmed this hours after Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu and his delegation met with PCG officials at the latter’s headquarters in Manila.

During the meeting, both sides discussed the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the PCG and the Vietnam Coast Guard, which have been in the works since 2018.

The PCG said the MOU seeks to enhance the strategic partnership of the two countries “toward promoting, preserving, and protecting their mutual interest in the Southeast Asian region.”

In particular, Balilo noted that the discussions centered on marine environmental protection, as well as search and rescue.

“There is a chance that we would establish a ‘hotline’ of communication for easier coordination in case there would be missing Vietnamese or Filipino fishermen,” the official said.

The PCG added that it provided the Vietnamese delegation with a comprehensive briefing on its operations in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The Philippines and Vietnam are among neighbors which have claims in the resource-rich South China Sea — which include the WPS — apart from China, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.