By Julio S. Amador III and Jeremie P. Credo
Hanoi and Manila are looking to elevate their relationship further in 2015.
Enjoying steady bilateral relations since diplomatic ties were established after the Vietnam War in 1976, the Philippines and Vietnam are now engaging in high-level dialogues to try to establish a strategic partnership.
In May of 2014, President Benigno S. Aquino III and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan expressed an aspiration toward establishing a strategic partnership between the two countries. In November, at the sidelines of the 2014 22nd APEC Leaders’ Meeting in Beijing, China, President Aquino and Vietnam’s President Truong Tan Sang agreed to convene a Joint Working Committee to start discussions on the roadmap towards this partnership.
The China Factor?
The idea of a strategic partnership became stronger during the oil rig row between Vietnam and China. In June 2014, China’s National Petroleum Corporation deployed a giant oil rig near the Paracel Islands, in the waters claimed by Vietnam as part of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This unilateral action by China led to a confrontation between Chinese and Vietnamese government vessels, as well as violent anti-China riots in Vietnam that forced thousands of Chinese to flee the country. Adding fuel to the clash was the arrest of six Vietnamese fishermen by Chinese naval ships in disputed waters. These standoffs led to a diplomatic rift between the two states.
The Philippines is the only claimant state in the SCS to have filed an arbitration case against China’s historic claims. In support of this move to promote a rules-based approach in solving maritime disputes, Vietnam submitted its position on this arbitration case to the international tribunal last December 2014. The changing geopolitical context has facilitated the convergence of interests of the Philippines and Vietnam, paving the way for establishing a strategic partnership.
Read the full story at The Diplomat