Vietnam signed with the Philippines
The Philippines and Vietnam have agreed to protect the delicate marine ecosystem in the West Philippine Sea from threats of overexploitation, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
The DFA said the agreement was made to address illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in accordance with the national laws of both countries.
Senior officials of both countries also endorsed the enhancement of cooperation on maritime and ocean matters. This includes the elevation of the Joint Permanent Working Group on Maritime and Ocean Concerns into a vice ministerial level, continued support for the Joint Oceanographic and Marine Scientific Research in the South China Sea, and implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement on Oil Spill Preparedness and the MOA on Search and Rescue at Sea.
The Philippines is also worry of any possible damage that would greatly affect the Philippines Marine Ecosystem as the Spratlys sea bed is link and inter connected with the Philippines and the area is just very close to the country than the other claimants.
The Philippines is also aware of any unwanted oil spills in the sea will closely affect the Palawan seas as the area is just few kilometers away and the Spratlys is within Philippines' proximity.
The Philippines and Vietnam are claimants to the potentially oil-rich waters and land features of West Philippine Sea.
The DFA said the Philippines and Vietnam agreed to speed up implementation of the MOA on Defense Cooperation and the MOA on Academic Cooperation as 11 areas of cooperation were reviewed.
"This is more than a wish list. It is a commitment to steer Philippines-Vietnam relations towards a more meaningful and deeper cooperation," Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said.
Del Rosario acknowledged the 11 areas of cooperation reviewed by senior officials of both countries at the 6th Philippines-Vietnam Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation held in Hanoi on Oct. 6 and 7 2011.
The MOA on Defense Cooperation and the MOA on Academic Cooperation were signed last year.
This year, the Philippines and Vietnam are celebrating the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
Since the last Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation in 2008, the two countries worked together on a number of areas such as political cooperation, defense and security, trade and investments, maritime and ocean concerns, agriculture, energy, tourism, education and culture.
Del Rosario and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh highlighted the official exchanges that continue to give impetus to the bilateral relations, notably the positive outcomes of the visit to Vietnam by President Aquino in October 2010 and the forthcoming visit of President Truong Tang to the Philippines later this month.
An action plan for 2011-2016 is expected to be launched during President Tang's visit to drive the cooperation to a comprehensive and solid partnership.
China and Vietnam sign agreement to cool sea dispute
China and Vietnam signed an agreement seeking to contain a dispute over the South China Sea that has stoked tensions between the two Communist-ruled neighbors divided by a history of distrust, China's official news agency said on Wednesday.
Diplomats signed the six-point agreement on Tuesday (October 11, 2011), while the General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, held conciliatory talks with Hu Jintao, who is China's Communist Party chief and president.
Vietnam and China, the Philippines - as well as, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan - stake conflicting claims of sovereignty over parts of the South China Sea, a potentially oil and gas rich body of water spanned by key shipping lanes.
Under the deal that builds on Beijing's efforts to cool tensions over rival territorial claims in the South China Sea, the two sides agreed to open a hotline to deal with potential maritime flare-ups and hold border negotiation talks twice a year.
"The two countries should remain committed to friendly consultations in order to properly handle maritime issues and make the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation," said the agreement, according to China's Xinhua news agency.
"Both sides should solve maritime disputes through negotiations and friendly consultations."
The bridge-building effort could dispel some of the rancour that has built up in the region, setting Beijing against Southeast Asian nations that have turned to the United States to counter growing Chinese military and political influence.
Last month, China's top official newspaper warned that a joint energy project between India and Vietnam in the sea infringed China's territorial claims.
In May and June, Vietnam accused Chinese vessels of harassing Vietnamese ships within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone. China denied its ships had done anything wrong.
Businessmen and diplomats say China has pressured foreign firms in deals with Vietnam not to develop oil blocks in the sea.
China helped Vietnamese Communist forces to victory in their decades-long fight against U.S. backed forces, but the two Asian nations have a history of mutual distrust reflecting Vietnam's anxieties about its much bigger neighbor. In 1979, they fought a short but bitter border war.
On the day that the agreement was signed, China's President Hu told Vietnam's party chief Trong their two countries should try to get along.
Inspite of the Philippines leading for the Unity for the ASEAN to solve the Spratlys disputes; China still insist for 1 on 1 resolution and refused the challenge of the Philippines to bring the issue to the United Nations ITLOS.
