Phl, Viet troops drink beer, play football

MANILA, Philippines - Vietnamese and Philippine troops got together on a disputed island in the West Philippine Sea yesterday to play soccer and volleyball – as well as drink beer – in a display of unity that will not go unnoticed in Beijing.

Philippine naval officials billed the event on the Vietnamese-held island as a chance to show the world there can be harmony in the disputed seas despite a web of overlapping claims to the potentially energy-rich waters.

The gathering on Southwest Cay or Pugad Island in the Spratly archipelago also symbolizes how once-suspicious neighbors are cooperating in the face of China’s growing assertiveness in disputed waters.

About 40 Philippine naval personnel sailed to the Vietnam-controlled island for the daylong event, Philippine naval officials said.

Coincidentally, the Philippines occupied Southwest Cay until early 1975, when troops from then South Vietnam seized it after Philippine forces sailed a couple of miles to Northeast Cay, which was under Manila’s control, for a party.

The South Vietnamese were soon displaced by the communist forces of a victorious Hanoi.

Besides playing soccer and volleyball, the troops held a tug-of-war competition, put on cultural shows involving singing and dancing and shared food and beer, said Philippine Navy spokesman Commander Gerard Fabic.

“The games did not pit the Philippines against Vietnam. Each team consisted of players from both countries,” he said. “This allows them to interact and know each other better.”

They also shared information on maritime security, natural disaster warnings and search and rescue operations.

Col. Le Xuan Thuy, a Vietnamese naval official, said the event reflected the goodwill between the two countries.

He told troops from both sides that current conditions in the region were complicated by the “unruly actions of China seriously violating international laws.”

The gathering underscores the growing cooperation between Hanoi and Manila - the two capitals most feeling China’s propriety over the South China Sea - even though both still claim Southwest Cay and dispute other islands. Southwest Cay is almost equidistant from Vietnam and the Philippines.

“We are not only bringing down walls of mistrust and suspicion with one another but building trust and confidence towards peacefully resolving our competing claims,” said a senior Philippine naval official who declined to be identified.

The Philippines would hold a similar event next year, officials said.

The Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei each claim some of the Spratlys, while China, Taiwan and Vietnam claim the whole chain.