South China Sea: could Philippines and Vietnam bond over assertive Beijing?

Both nations believe maritime claims to the region must be based on a 1982 international convention, but China’s claims do not adhere to that

While Vietnam and China are close ideologically, the increasingly volatile sea dispute could bring Manila and Hanoi closer together, say analysts

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China’s largest coastguard patrol boat, equipped with water cannons, an aerial tracking system and a helicopter landing deck, shortly after its launch in 2020. Photo: Weibo

Published: 9:30am, 20 Aug 2023

A silver lining could yet emerge for Philippines-Vietnam ties from an increased regional focus on outwardly aggressive Chinese activities in the South China Sea, analysts say, as the common threat both countries face brings them closer together.

But before any enhancements to maritime security cooperation between the two Southeast Asian nations can occur, they urgently need to find common ground on handling their overlapping claims in the resource-rich waterway, experts say.

Tensions flared this month when Chinese coastguard ships blocked and fired a water cannon at Philippine vessels on a resupply mission to troops deployed on the BRP Sierra Madre vessel in the disputed Spratly Islands.

Manila ran the World War II-era ship aground there in the late 1990s, to help assert Philippine sovereignty.

Following the recent water-cannon incident, President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr spoke of the importance of the Philippines’ growing ties with Vietnam, saying that maritime cooperation would be a “very big step” for the two countries’ ties.

“Now that we are going to start discussions on the agreement that we have between the Philippines and Vietnam, I think it is a very important part of our relationship, and it will bring an element of stability to the problems we are now seeing in the South China Sea,” said Marcos, according to a statement by his Presidential Communications Office.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr (left) and Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (fourth from left) with other Asean leaders at a summit in Indonesia in May. Photo: AP

As the two countries seek to strengthen ties amid China’s growing assertiveness, they must tackle strategic challenges that have historically impeded their relationship, particularly after the appointment of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who advocated for Manila to form closer ties with Beijing during his 2016-2022 term, moving away from Washington.