R.P., Vietnam eye tourney in Spratlys
Philippine and Vietnamese officials will discuss the possibility of holding an athletic
competition in the disputed Spratly islands as well as defense cooperation in talks this
week, an official said Monday.
The talks on Thursday and Friday will also cover trade, tourism and agricultural
cooperation between two of Southeast Asia’s poorest nations. Vietnamese Foreign
Minister Nguyen Dy Nien was arriving later Wednesday for the talks, officials said.
High on the topics to be discussed are bilateral efforts to ease tensions in the South China
Sea’s Spratlys archipelago, a potentially oil- and gas-rich region claimed by six countries,
including the Philippines and Vietnam, Philippine assistant foreign secretary Antonio
Rodriguez said.
One proposal is to hold athletic competitions, possibly volleyball, soccer or basketball,
between Philippine and Vietnamese military and civilian personnel alternately on islands
claimed by both nations to foster friendship, Rodriguez said.
“The idea is to hold games on our islands, then on theirs so people from both sides would
know each other. It’s a confidence-building measure,” Rodriguez said.
The possibility of joint marine research by scientists of the two countries and talks on joint
response to oil spills in the Spratlys, which straddle busy sea lanes, are also on the
agenda, Rodriguez said.
The territorial disputes have been regarded as a potential flashpoint for conflict in Asia
and have periodically strained diplomatic ties among claimants, which also include
Brunei, China,Taiwan and Malaysia.
Last August Vietnamese troops based on an Spratlys islet fired warning shots at
Philippine military planes.
China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed a landmark but
nonbinding accord in November, forbidding claimant nations from building new structures
on uninhabited South China Sea islands to avoid conflict.
Claimants were also urged to settle disputes peacefully and study ways to ease tension in
the region.
Philippine and Vietnamese officials also will discuss exchanges of military officials and
students to improve defense cooperation.
A Philippine proposal to discuss possible joint military exercises was not received warmly
by Vietnam because of its relative inexperience in such activity, Rodriguez said.
The officials will also discuss ways to enhance two-way trade, which last year amounted to
US$355 million, largely in Vietnam’s favor, partly because of its huge rice exports to the
Philippines.
The two countries forged diplomatic relations in July 1976.
ABS-CBN News (.ph) - February 27, 2003.
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