PHL, Vietnam navies to jointly patrol Spratlys
Tuesday, 27 March 2012 18:28 Rene Acosta / Reporter
THE Philippines and Vietnam have moved closer to jointly patrolling their claimed maritime territories in the disputed Spratly Group of Islands that are being aggressively claimed by China.
The standard operating procedure for the joint patrol by the country’s Navy and the Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) of the Northeast Cay and Southwest Cay, both on the South China Sea, was signed by Vice Admiral Alex Pama, Navy flag officer in command and the Vietnam Navy’s commander in chief Adm. Nguyen Van Hien.
Lt. Col. Omar Tonsay, Navy spokesman, said Northeast Cay is occupied by the Philippines, and it is located 45 kilometers northeast of Pag-asa, the biggest island that is currently occupied by the country.
On the other hand, the Southwest Cay is occupied by Vietnam, and it is located 3 kilometers away from Northeast Cay....
Aside from the joint-maritime patrol, the Philippines and Vietnam also forged defense cooperation, with Pama and Hien signing an MOU on the “Enhancement of Mutual Cooperation and Information Sharing” between the two navies.
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