Vietnam wants more fun and games in Spratlys

Members of the Philippine (back R-in white) and Vietnamese (L-in stripes) navies taking part in a tug-of-war game during a day of friendly games and cultural exchanges on June 8 on the contested islands in the Spratlys archipelago in the South China Sea. AFP/Philippine Navy FILE PHOTO

Vietnam wants to conduct more friendly engagements with the Philippines following the successful holding of ball games and other sports activities on Wednesday in Parola Island (Northeast Cay) in the West Philippine Sea.

“They (Vietnamese Navy troops) were encouraged by the results and they would like to have a follow-on,” Philippine Navy spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo said on Thursday.

“The information that we had was they were very happy about the turnout of the activity and they would like to have another similar event,” Arevalo said.

The Navy-to-Navy engagement was held in the Philippines-occupied territory in the Kalayaan Island Group.

A total of 62 personnel from the Vietnamese People’s Navy and the same number of sailors from the host Navy took part in the sports games.

This return visit followed after an equally successful hosting by the Vietnamese troops of a similar event in June 28 last year at the Vietnamese Navy’s island detachment.

Among the events played this year were volleyball, football, tug-of-war, sack race and centipede race. The host Navy won in the tug-of-war and the sack race for male.

The visiting team Navy won in the volleyball, soccer, centipede race and sack race for female. The Vietnamese troops were declared the overall winner.

The action-packed sports competition was capped by a cultural presentation rendered by the host Navy that the Vietnamese team met with acclamation.

Arevalo said the local Navy personnel reflected the true Filipino virtues of hospitality and friendship.

“Even language did not pose a barrier. The participants understood each other through signs and gestures,” he said.

He said the event showed that winning in the sports event was second only to what was attained in this activity—keeping peace, maintaining goodwill and promoting camaraderie between and among the participants.

“Sailor-to-sailor interactions like this foster understanding notwithstanding varying positions and overlapping claims between Vietnam and the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea,” Arevalo said.

“The Philippine and Vietnamese Navies are in the forefront of ensuring peace, amity, cooperation and assistance in that part of the sea,” he said.

The assistance recently rendered by the Vietnamese People’s Navy in helping six distressed Filipino fisherfolk near their island detachment this year is one good example of such cooperation and assistance.