MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Navy plans to hold joint maritime
exercises with its Vietnamese and Thai counterparts as part of efforts
to strengthen ties with the navies of neighboring Asian countries, a
military spokesman said.
Lieutenant Colonel Omar Tonsay disclosed this following the visit of a
Philippine Navy delegation led by its chief, Vice Admiral Alexander
Pama, to Vietnam on March 11-14 and Thailand on March 14-17.
The Philippine delegation toured the Naval Shipyard X46 or the Hai
Long Shipbuilding Co. in Vietnam, which is equipped with
state-of-the-art shipbuilding and repair facilities and which is capable
of building warships and military vessels, Tonsay said.
“This visit is expected to provide opportunities for the conduct of
joint maritime exercises in the West Philippine Sea (northeast of
Vietnam) and other common maritime domains following proper diplomatic
channels under guidance from the Department of National Defense,” Tonsay
said.
“Sharing of shipbuilding expertise is clearly seen as one possible
area for cooperation during this tour,” Tonsay added. The delegation, he
said, suggested possible training for Philippine Navy personnel at the
X46 shipyard.
Likewise, the leaders of the two navies discussed a proposal to
establish a communication hotline between the operations centers of the
Philippine Navy and the Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) especially for
search-and-rescue operations.
Pama and VPN’s commander in chief, Admiral Nguyen Van Hien, also
signed the standard operating procedure regarding interactions among
Philippine and Vietnamese navies’ personnel in the vicinity of Southeast
Cay and the Northeast Cay Island, located between the two countries.
Nguyen offered to host the first “Navy to Navy Talks” with the
Philippines in Vietnam in the last quarter of 2012, the Philippine Navy
spokesman said.
“The visit paved the way for continued Staff to Staff Talks and
exchange of visits between the Philippine Navy and VPN, which is hoped
to sustain the active engagements of the Philippine Navy and the VPN and
effectively address maritime security issues in common maritime
domains,” Tonsay added.
In Thailand, Pama and other delegation members met with the Thai
Ministry of Defense and held exploratory talks on avenues of cooperation
for the Philippine Navy and the Royal Thai Navy (RTN). Joint maritime
exercises and ship visits by the Thai Navy to the Philippines were also
discussed.
Likewise, the RTN also committed to host Navy to Navy Talks to
further discuss matters that will strengthen the bilateral activities of
both navies.
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Katherine Evangelista | INQUIRER.net | March 27, 2012 | Article Link