Vietnam and the Philippines signed agreements January 30 to broaden cooperation between the countries’ coast guards in the South China Sea in an attempt to prevent further incidents between the nations. Philippine and Vietnamese officials have not yet specified how they plan to prevent and manage future conflicts in the sea.
According to ABC News, both countries also agreed to bolster trade and investment amongst one another while signing a key deal on rice. Under the agreement, Vietnam will supply the Philippines with 1.6 million to 2.2 million tons of rice annually. Vietnamese rice accounts for 85% of the rice imported to the Philippines.
The deals come at a time when Vietnam and the Philippines have been forced to deal with confrontations from China in the waterway.
Though China and the Philippines agreed in a meeting earlier this month to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has recently raised concerns over increasingly aggressive actions from the Chinese coast guard.
“There continue to be… unilateral and illegal actions that violate our sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction and exacerbate tensions in the South China Sea,” Marcos Jr. said in a call to Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. “We are firm in defending our sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction against any provocations. But at the same time, we are also seeking to address these issues with China through peaceful dialogue and consultations as two equal sovereign states.”
