Amid ASEAN’s lukewarm support for the Philippines’ standing up to China, especially on Ayungin Shoal, one member country has quietly shored up its cooperation with us. It appears unlikely, but a country with fraternal ties to the Communist Party of China — yet speaks up against it — is closing ranks with the Philippines when it comes to the contentious South China Sea. 

In January, during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s  state visit to Vietnam, Hanoi and Manila sealed two agreements: to prevent and manage “incidents” in the South China Sea and for the two countries’ coast guards to set up a Joint Coast Guard Committee and cooperate to address common maritime issues. (Copies of these agreements have not been made public, I am told, because Vietnam does not want to rile up China.)

These moves strengthen the almost decade-long strategic partnership of the Philippines and Vietnam forged in 2015 during the presidency of the late Benigno Aquino III. This is the highest level of diplomatic relationship, with a strong focus on security cooperation.

Vietnam is the Philippines’ only strategic partner in Southeast Asia and one among three. The other two are Japan (2015) and Australia (2023).

The most visible display of this bestie relationship took place in early July, but it gained little attention. The navies of Manila and Hanoi gathered on Pugad Island (Southwest Cay), held dialogues on regional maritime security, talked about future cooperation and, in between, played football, tug-of-war, sack race, engaged in “culinary exchanges,” and sang as well as performed local dances.

About 60 personnel from both sides — a Fleet-Marine contingent from the Philippines and the Naval Region 4 contingent from the Vietnam People’s Navy — participated in this annual one-day activity, already the seventh iteration. This began in 2014 but was discontinued during the pandemic, resuming only this year.

Going back to the early years, the 2014 bilateral event was described as a “day of beach volleyball, food, and music.” The year after, the Philippines hosted it in Parola (Northeast Cay), which we occupy, where about 100 Filipino troops welcomed 60 Vietnamese sailors. They played volleyball, soccer, and sang karaoke. 

The years that followed, until 2019, saw more of these exchanges. After a four-year lull, the two countries decided to renew this activity, this time, with substantive discussions.

Pugad Island: a bit of history

What’s fascinating about this event, apart from the camaraderie between the navies of claimant countries, is the setting. Pugad Island used to be under the control of the Philippines but Vietnam seized it in 1975.

Imagine our soldiers stepping on ground that was once ours. Today, Pugad Island in the Spratlys has anti-air and coastal defense capabilities, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. It has a” circular pad seen at their connected bunker sitting along the coast.” 

In photos posted by the Philippines’ Naval Forces West on Facebook, you could see a well-developed island with a number of buildings, one looking like a military headquarters, spruced up grounds for sports competitions, and paved roads.

When I was doing research for my book, Rock Solid, Rodolfo Biazon, who had then retired from the military and politics, told me that the Philippine forces didn’t occupy Pugad in the early 1970s, but they watched it from a nearby feature, Parola. “We only occupied features that had land,” Biazon recalled, “because it was easier to put up structures.” He was a junior officer in the Marines when he was assigned to be part of the team that would occupy parts of the Spratlys. (He passed away in 2023.)

“We decided to watch Pugad from Parola because it was very near,” Biazon continued. “Pugad was not habitable…. It was a problem of logistics. So we sent an on-and-off detachment there.” It was in one of those moments when the Philippine detachment wasn’t there that Vietnam occupied Pugad.

One account says that Pugad was taken over by Vietnam when the Filipino soldiers manning it were invited to a party in a nearby island by Vietnamese troops. When they returned, to their surprise, Vietnam had already occupied it.

Eventually, in April 1975, North Vietnam took control of Pugad from South Vietnam “in order to preempt its possible seizure by China.” 

Template for other claimant countries? 

What the Philippines and Vietnam have achieved, so far, could be a template for Manila in fortifying cooperation with other claimant countries like Malaysia and Brunei, and eventually forming a united front against China.

The Philippines and Brunei have already taken the first step. When Marcos visited Brunei in May, he and Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah signed, among others, a maritime cooperation agreement. While the details have not been made public, I learned that it is similar to the Manila-Hanoi agreement, which means that it covers preventing and managing “incidents” in the South China Sea.

Malaysia presents a bigger hurdle because of the rough undertow: the Philippines’ claim to Sabah. It would take more imagination, deft negotiation skills, and hard work to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough with Kuala Lumpur.

Let me know what you think. You can email me at [email protected]. – Rappler.com