The Philippine government is looking to advance its maritime cooperation with Vietnam to further promote safe seas and stability in the region, especially in the South China Sea where both nations are claimant states.

In a speech at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam on Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said Manila and Hanoi’s geographies and status as major littoral states in the South China Sea “make maritime cooperation a vital point of interaction” between the two states.

The official said both countries must explore “novel modes of cooperation” in maritime safety, search and rescue, marine scientific research and marine environmental protection.

“As maritime nations at the heart of this seascape, it is a given that we consider safe and secure seas and sound marine ecosystems as integral to the future of our peoples and our region,” Manalo said.

“Our two countries have in the past set a precedent for the responsible stewardship of these waters with a series of joint marine research expeditions of our scientists in the 1990s,” he added.

For Manalo, achieving maritime security in the region would be a “powerful impetus” for the two states’ strategic partnership.

He said the partnership should also serve as an affirmation that both countries are invested in keeping the seas open and free, and that “disputes must be managed and resolved peacefully in accordance with international norms and laws, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as well as the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea”.

“Along these lines and until the resolution of these disputes, the Philippines and Vietnam share a distinctive responsibility in working to achieve a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, and seeing to its conclusion at the earliest opportunity,” he said.

Through the Philippines-Vietnam Joint Permanent Working Group on Maritime and Ocean Concerns, Manila and Hanoi discuss challenges and explore joint initiatives for the effective management of their competing claims over the South China Sea.

Manalo is in Hanoi to lead the 10th Meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation together with his Vietnamese counterpart Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.

Apart from maritime cooperation, Manila and Hanoi seek to strengthen collaboration on defense, trade and investment, maritime security, agriculture, education, tourism, environment, and information and communication technology. (PNA)