Phl, Vietnam push multilateral Spratly approach

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippines and Vietnam yesterday renewed their commitment to maintain peace in the Spratlys and the need for a multilateral and “rules-based approach” to resolve territorial disputes among claimants.

In a speech after an expanded bilateral meeting with President Aquino at Malacañang, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang said Vietnam would support and work closely with the Philippines as well as other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote Manila’s proposal on the creation of a Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation and support the implementation of the Declaration of Conduct (DOC) in the West Philippine Sea.

Both Aquino and Sang said they affirmed the importance of the maintenance of peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation in the entire South China Sea.

“We also underline that the settlement of disputes by the parties concerned through peaceful means on the basis of full respect to international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to ensure the full implementation of the DOC and the early development of the COC (Code of Conduct) in the East Sea,” Sang said.

Aquino said he and Sang exchanged information and views on issues relating to the West Philippine Sea off Palawan and the East Sea off Vietnam, and reaffirmed the importance of the maintenance of peace, stability, maritime safety and security in the region.

He also said he and Sang agreed that a rules-based approach, adhering to international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), was essential to the pursuit of a peaceful resolution of these issues through multilateral dialogue and consultations.

The two countries yesterday signed four agreements to enhance the two countries’ 35 years of bilateral cooperation, which include tourism cooperation and sharing of information to combat smuggling and drug trafficking.

“I’m confident that our meeting have helped set our two countries on a sure and steady path toward a more positive, dynamic and nurturing friendship that will best serve the mutual interest of Filipino and Vietnamese peoples,” President Aquino said.

Aquino, who received Sang on the first day of a three-day state visit, said the agreements were signed exactly a year after he visited Hanoi, where four agreements were also inked.

The agreements were the Philippines-Vietnam Action Plan 2011-2016, Tourism Cooperation Plan 2012-2015, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the navies of the two countries for enhancement of information sharing, and a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for a “hotline” between the two countries’ coast guards.

“Our nations reached an agreement on a collaborative blueprint of specific bilateral projects we both intend to undertake from now until the end of my term (June 2016),” Aquino said.

The first agreement is a framework that enhances multifaceted relations in 13 areas of cooperation. These cover political matters, defense and security, economic, maritime, agriculture, fisheries and forestry, climate change, energy, health, education and many others.

Tourism cooperation involves strengthening the conduct of joint tourism promotion and development as well as exchanges on cultural tourism, human resources and relevant tourism information.

Under the MOU, the Philippine Navy and Vietnam People’s Navy will work on information sharing, which include annual talks, naval technology cooperation, personnel training exchange and personnel interaction.

The Philippine Coast Guard and Vietnam Marine Police will set up a hotline for information sharing on incidents at sea, marine protection, and prevention of smuggling, drug trafficking, piracy and illegal immigration.

“We both agreed to continue to strive toward a more comprehensive relationship, with an eye toward achieving enhanced total cooperation,” Aquino said during a joint press briefing with Sang at the Reception Hall of Malacañang.

Sang’s visit was highlighted by an expanded bilateral meeting with Aquino aimed at strengthening further the diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The 62-year-old Sang, who arrived yesterday on a chartered Vietnam Airlines flight, is the first head of state to visit the country since Aquino assumed office in June 2010.

Sang is billeted at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza. Immediately after his arrival, the Vietnamese leader and his delegation proceeded to Malacañang where they received arrival honors.

The two heads of state held an expanded bilateral meeting at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room.

Sang will begin his activities today by laying a wreath at the Rizal Monument in Rizal Park.

Afterwards, he will lead the ceremony for the unveiling of the bust of one of his predecessors, President Ho Chi Minh, at the ASEAN Park in Intramuros, Manila.

Sang will then visit the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Laguna and will go back to Manila to attend a Vietnam-Philippines Business Luncheon.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Asian Development Bank (ADB) president Haruhiko Kuroda will each pay a courtesy call on the Vietnamese president this afternoon.

Sang will also host a private dinner in honor of his old-time Filipino friends at Casa Roces within the Malacañang complex to cap his second day here.

A light schedule awaits Sang on Friday as Sang meets with Vietnam embassy personnel and the Vietnamese community to conclude his state visit, before boarding a chartered flight back to Hanoi at Villamor Airbase.

Diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Philippines date back to July 1976.

Better South China Sea defense

In Taipei, Taiwan’s security chief called yesterday for improved defenses of a group of islands in the South China Sea, reacting to reports that rival claimants to the disputed waters are building up their arms.

“The Spratly Islands are our territory… We should upgrade our defense capabilities and replace some ageing equipment,” Tsai De-sheng, head of the national security bureau said in parliament.

Mr. Tsai’s comments came after defense minister Kao Hua-chu endorsed a plan proposed by lawmakers to deploy advanced missiles in the contested waters over concerns that Taiwan’s coast guards were vulnerable.

The Taiwanese cost guard currently has a 130-strong garrison in Taiping, the biggest island in the Spratlys archipelago. – Delon Porcalla, Aurea Calica