Manila to strike defence deal with China

The Philippine government will map out details of the defence cooperation agreement with China later this month.

The accord, according to Philippine Defence Secretary Avelino Cruz is aimed at ending tensions in the territorial dispute between the Philippines and China over Spratlys Islands. Cruz said his visit to China would involve a high-level dialogue that will identify areas in defence where the two countries can cooperate.

"There are areas that we can help each other, for example, sea rescue, disaster mitigation and exchange of training," Cruz said.

Cruz's visit to China comes on the heels of the recent visit of President Gloria Arroyo to China where she agreed to forge a bilateral agreement.

The Philippine government's oil exploration company agreed to jointly conduct with its Chinese counterpart the seismic mapping of potential reserves of the Spratlys.

This move recently angered Vietnam's foreign ministry which accused both Manila and Beijing of bypassing other claimants in Spratlys, which are believed to be atop vast mineral and oil reserves. Last Friday, the Philippines sought to allay Vietnam's fears and said that it did not violate a code of conduct signed by claimants in 2002.

Philippine spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the Philippines was willing to provide Vietnam with a copy of its agreement with China, stressing that the joint effort would only cover "seismic studies".