Vietnam, under its new leader, is joining the Philippines for a joint coast guard drill for the first time as both countries navigate territorial disputes with communist China, which have been escalating in recent years.
Hanoi announced that its 2,400-ton Vietnam Coast Guard ship CSB 8002 left Vietnamese waters on July 31 to the Philippines for a joint training, and was expected to arrive in Manilla on Aug. 5 and stay until Aug. 9.
The visit has “a great political significance,” Vietnam’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The drills show that both nations now believe that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the real threat, according to Su Tzu-yun, researcher and director of Division of Defense Strategy and Resources at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
“Although Vietnam maintains superficial relations with the CCP, the deep-seated hostility is clearly directed at the CCP, at least it’s forming an obvious alliance with the Philippines to balance Beijing’s pressure,” he told The Epoch Times.
According to the statement from Vietnam’s Defense Ministry, the visit of the Vietnamese coast guard ship and its participation in a joint drill will provide an opportunity for the two countries’ coast guard forces to “promote comprehensive cooperation (and) improve law enforcement ability at sea … to contribute to the maintenance of peace, stability, security and safety in the relevant sea area and in the region.”
The Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan will lead the welcoming ceremony for CSB 8002 and a Vietnamese delegation of 80 members.
Gavan said that the port call aims to “foster mutual understanding and enhance cooperation between the two coast guards,” in a statement posted on the coastguard’ official Facebook account.
According to both countries’ militaries, the joint training exercises include drills for search and rescue, fire and explosion prevention, and maritime safety.
The new cooperation comes after recent joint drills between the Philippines, Japan, and the United States were conducted in the South China Sea. The Philippines and Japan also held their first bilateral navy drills in waters contested with China on Aug. 2.
The U.S. and Philippine navies also conducted a joint training exercise in the South China Sea on July 31.
Beijing claims nearly the entire South China Sea based on its nine-dash line, which overlaps with maritime territorial claims based on internationally recognized EEZs (exclusive economic zones) of the Philippines, Vietnam, and a few other Southeast Asian nations in the strategic waterway.
In mid-July, Vietnam submitted a claim to the United Nations to extend its territorial claims on the continental shelf of the South China Sea from its current 200 nautical miles that includes the Paracel and part of the Spratly Islands that are also claims by China in its 9-dash line. The Philippines filed a similar claim in June.
China’s ruling communist party, the CCP, has expressed its firm opposition to the claims submitted by Vietnam and lodged solemn representations to Hanoi.
Standing Against CCP’s Expansionist Goals
Su says that both countries have formally and informally sent political signals to Beijing, which serve as an indirect deterrent to the CCP’s expansionist goals in the disputed waters.
“Therefore, in this case, the cooperation between the Philippines and Vietnam will of course bring a deterrent [force] to Beijing for balance [in South China Sea]. Although Beijing may still use unilateral force to expand against both countries, the resistance it meets with may be getting stronger,” he said.
Retired Maj. Gen. Yu Tsung-chi in Taiwan, an adviser to the Formosa Republican Association, said that the countries in the entire first island chain, which refers to the first chain of major Pacific archipelagos out from the East Asian continental mainland coast, now are facing “gray zone intrusion” from the CCP in areas Beijing is laying down claims with its militia, fishing boats, or its coast guard or navy.
He said that the most effective way to counter the CCP at present is to strengthen joint cooperation among all countries in the first island chain, “such as joint patrols between coast guards. Because in terms of the number of ships, no country alone can compare with China.”
Stance of Vietnam’s New Leader
Following the sudden death of Vietnam’s long-time communist leader Nguyen Phu Trong in July, Vietnamese president To Lam has become the new top leader of the country.
Su said it can be seen from Lam’s attitude when he visits other countries that he is taking the socialist capitalism line of development, similar to the Chinese Deng Xiaoping’s strategic reforms and opening up.
In addition, Su said, “since Beijing wants to take over the entire important waterway in the South China Sea, for Vietnam, [the waterway] is of course crucial to the safety of its maritime livelihood, because Vietnam is also a country that is highly dependent on shipping in the South China Sea. If all major sea areas fall under the control of the CCP, it will also be unbearable for Vietnam. So it [new Vietnam leadership] will be leaning more toward the United States in terms of ideological and security cooperation.
“At the same time, the United States is also trying to win over, including possibly selling F16 to Vietnam,” he said. “In this case, I think the Philippines wants to use Vietnam as another ally in Southeast Asia, while it has Japan and South Korea in Northeast Asia to strengthen the defense of the first island chain.”
However, Yu is more cautious about the Vietnamese leader’s plans.
“This does not mean that Vietnam is ready to change direction,” he said of the new drills. “Vietnam is also a communist regime.
“It can be seen that Vietnam is now more leaning towards Russia while it is on guard against China,” he acknowledged. “I think that Vietnam’s attitude towards China is very cautious.
“Meanwhile, Vietnam is also expressing its dissatisfaction with China through cooperation with the Philippines. Therefore, I think it will become more and more frequent for Vietnam to seek common cooperation with the Philippines, and even the United States, Japan, and other countries in the South China Sea to counter China’s expansion,” he said.
Luo Ya and Reuters contributed to this report.