Vietnam backs Philippine sea peace zone plan

MANILA, Philippines—Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang Wednesday backed a Philippine proposal for a peace zone in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) at a meeting with President Benigno Aquino.

The two Southeast Asian countries have overlapping claims over the Spratly Islands. Brunei, China, Malaysia and Taiwan also have claims, leading to rising tensions in the reputedly resource-rich waters that host key shipping lanes.

Aquino has been trying to encourage Southeast Asian neighbors to form a united front against China’s sovereignty claim over all of the West Philippine Sea.

“We also exchanged information and views on issues relating to the West Philippine Sea and reaffirmed the importance of the maintenance of peace, stability, maritime safety and security in the region,” Aquino said.

Sang, speaking with Aquino at a joint news conference during a state visit, said his country supported Philippine calls for settling the disputes through international law and the creation of a “zone of peace” in the West Philippine Sea.

“We again affirm the importance of the maintenance of peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation in the East Sea (Vietnam’s name for the area) to the region as well as to the parties concerned,” Sang said.

“We also affirmed that maritime and ocean cooperation is one of the pillars of our bilateral relations,” the Vietnamese ceremonial leader said.

The Philippines has accused the Chinese military of aggressive acts in the Philippine-claimed areas of the West Philippine Sea this year, including firing on Filipino fishermen, laying buoys and harassing an oil exploration vessel.

“We agreed that a rules-based approach, adhering to international law… is essential to the pursuit of a peaceful resolution of these issues through multilateral dialogue and consultations,” Aquino said.

He said he and Sang also stressed that a 2002 declaration by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations members plus China on the conduct of the parties to the West Philippine Sea dispute should be fully implemented.

Spratly claimants Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, along with Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand make up the Asean.