Marcos’ Visit to Vietnam: When Manila’s Pivot Meets Hanoi’s Pragmatism

Picture: Nhac NGUYEN / AFP

In an article by Fulcrum, Hoang Thi Ha and Aries A. Arugay highlight the main discussion points from Philippine President Marcos Jr.’s recent state visit to Hanoi, particularly on the issue of maritime cooperation in the South China Sea.

An important outcome of the visit was the signing of two memoranda of understanding on incident prevention in the SCS and on coast guard cooperation. Both sides agreed to resume their joint commission on maritime and ocean cooperation at the vice-ministerial level. Of particular significance was Manila’s expressed willingness to explore developing a joint submission with Vietnam on the extended continental shelf before the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). Vietnam had previously submitted a joint submission with Malaysia. Another joint submission with the Philippines would be a concrete step by Southeast Asian claimant states in upholding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), thereby rejecting China’s nine-dash line as unlawful.

While the outcomes from Marcos’s visit are instrumental in solidifying mutual trust and maritime cooperation between Vietnam and the Philippines, they should not be overinterpreted as signifying a unified Manila-Hanoi stance in pushing back against China’s actions in the SCS.