Defining the News
In January this year, the Philippines and Vietnam agreed to boost cooperation between their coast guards and work to prevent incidents in disputed parts of the South China Sea amid growing Chinese assertiveness in the vital sealane.The first agreement covered “maritime cooperation” between the two nations’ coast guards and the second “incident prevention in the South China Sea.”
The deal on incident prevention binds the two countries to enhance coordination on maritime issues bilaterally, within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and with other dialogue partners.While these agreements indicate shared interests between the two in managing the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Hanoi is not expected to follow Manila’s defiant stand against Chinese intimidation and bullying in its Exclusive Economic Zone in the West Philippine Sea.
After all, our two countries are vulnerable to China’s “divide and rule” tactic, according to a news report quoting Alex Vuving, a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies based in Hawaii. Why is this so? He explained: “China is far more powerful than all of its neighbors in Southeast Asia. It is not only aware of this fact, it also tries to capitalize on the asymmetry of power it enjoys in relations with the neighbors.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
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