Vietnam, Philippines sign deals on security in disputed South China Sea

Vietnam and the Philippines have agreed to cooperate on maritime security in the South China Sea, a conduit for $3 trillion of annual shipborne trade that China claims almost in its entirety.

The deals, signed during a state visit to Hanoi by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Tuesday, will see the two countries’ coastguards working together to prevent and manage incidents in the disputed waters.

The South China Sea is at the centre of territorial tussles between China, the Philippines and other countries. China claims almost the entire sea as its sovereign territory, while the Philippines, Vietnam and others claim various islands, islets, reefs and shoals.

Tensions between the Philippines, a United States ally, and China over the waters recently reached boiling point. At the end of last year, the Philippines accused China of “swarming” the Whitsun Reef off its coast. China, for its part, accused the Philippines of provocations in the Second Thomas Shoal waterway.

Earlier this month, China held military drills in the South China Sea as the US and the Philippines conducted their own joint exercises in the same waters.

Credit: aljazeera.com

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