Vietnam’s coast guard visits Philippines for joint drills as both face maritime tensions with China

Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Vietnamese coast guard ship arrived in Manila on Monday for a four-day goodwill visit and joint exercises as the two countries attempt to put aside their own territorial disputes in the face of rising tensions with China over control of key features in the South China Sea. As Philippine coast guard personnel wave Philippine and Vietnamese flags and a brass band play under the morning sun at Manila’s harbor, Vietnam’s 2,400-ton coast guard ship with 80 crewmembers docked Monday, its officers saluting from the lower and upper decks of the 90-meter white ship in its first to visit Manila.