Philippines and Vietnam Form Maritime Alliance
Vietnam and the Philippines, which have long-standing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, are forming a strategic partnership, reports the National Interest.
Taipei and Manila have signed an agreement spelling out how to settle future law enforcement problems in the shared 250-kilometer-wide Luzon Strait, where fish abound but territorial waters overlap.
Worried over the rise of China and, in particular, Beijing’s increasingly belligerent actions in pursuit of its own territorial claims, Hanoi and Manila are banding together.
American President Barack Obama recently said in an interview: “[China] shouldn’t bully small countries like Vietnam or Philippines around maritime issues, but try to resolve those peacefully in accordance with international law."
Taiwan and the Philippines aren’t the first two South China Sea claimants to reach a deal on fair use of disputed waters. But theirs comes as the region as a whole has failed for lack of buy-in from Beijing to update a 13-year-old code of conduct for the 3.5-square-kilometer sea.
The two countries have planned joint naval exercises and patrols as well as new trade initiatives. Neither country wants to see China extend control over the entirety of the South China Sea, which seems to be its aim.
Both Vietnam and the Philippines have come to realize that China poses a greater threat to each than they do to each other. Like the Taipei-Manila pact, the code would establish rules for avoiding open conflicts.
The Taiwan-Philippine deal would commit both sides to shunning violence when responding to illegal fishing, inform each other of any legal action and return violators as soon as possible.
The advent of a Vietnam-Philippines strategic partnership should be particularly troubling for Beijing.
