Philippines–South Vietnam relations

Members of the Philippine Civic Action Group (PHILCAG) arriving in Tây Ninh, South Vietnam. 1966

The leaders of some of the SEATO nations in front of the Congress Building in Manila, hosted by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on 24 October 1966

PHILCAG camp, Tay Ninh, 29 January 1967

Some Filipino medics went to South Vietnam for humanitarian aid in the Vietnam War, with the approval of Magsaysay in 1954. Their efforts were known as Operation Brotherhood, which received international support in order to help the operation's goals to aid the Vietnamese refugees.[1][2][3]

In July 1964, South Vietnam asked the Philippines for assistance against its belligerents in the North when Major General Nguyễn Khánh sent a note to President Diosdado Macapagal asking for aid in the Vietnam War.[1] In August 1964, the first Philippine contingent (PHILCON I) was sent to South Vietnam in 1965 after Macapagal secured the consent of the Congress. The contingent initially consisted of 16 individuals who were doctors, nurses, technicians, and civic action officers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Aside from humanitarian aid, the contingent was also involved in psychological warfare according to the official records of the United States' Military Assistance Command, Vietnam.[4]

On April 14, 1965, Prime Minister Phan Huy Quát sent a letter to the Philippine President stating South Vietnam's dire need for military assistance. In the same letter, Prime Minister Quát hopes to see about 2,000 Filipino soldiers sent to South Vietnam. President Macapagal asked the Congress for the fulfillment of South Vietnam's request[1] but was not able to send a second contingent, the Philippine Civic Action Group (PHILCAG) due to dispute which involves him insisting the United States to fund the contingent. As of June 1966, they were 73 Filipinos involved in the war effort.[4]

Macapagal was succeeded by the Ferdinand Marcos, who was not initially in favor of sending a second contingent, following the 1965 Philippine presidential elections. The United States was partially successful in convincing Marcos to retract his stance after five diplomatic missions. While he was remained firm in not sending combat troops in South Vietnam, he opened to the possibility of sending more troops to provide humanitarian aid.[4]The plan to send a second contingent to South Vietnam was approved by the Congress on July 14, 1966 under Republic Act No. 4664.[1][5]Under Marcos he did not allow the United States to fully fund the formation of the contingent since he believed the Filipinos would be treated as mercenaries by the Americans if they did so. The South Vietnam government accepted the Philippines offer of a second contingent on August 15, 1966 while PHILCAG commander, General Gaudencio V. Tobias receiving order from Marcos to secretly establish contact with the Viet Cong so that the Philippines could act as an intermediary for a peace negotiation since there is a belief in the country that North Vietnam would not be hostile to idea due to PHILCAG's non-combat role in the war.[4]

The Philippines hosted the Manila Summit of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization in October 1966, where seven members promised aid to South Vietnam against the communist North. There was some opposition regarding the deployment of the Philippine Civic Action Group to South Vietnam by academics, students, and laborers who held protests during the summit. The Vietnam Aid Bill in the Philippine Congress was also opposed by a significant minority.[1]

The Philippine Civic Action Group while primarily involved in rebuilding roads and providing humanitarian aid were occasionally involved in defensive operations. It was involved in Operation Attleboro where 4 of its personnel were wounded. By the end of the 1966, the Philippines had 2,063 personnel in South Vietnam.[4]

The South Vietnam government intercepted the secret plan of Marcos to establish ties with the Viet Cong and Tobias reasoned that the Philippines was negotiating for an arrangement that would lead to the Viet Cong forces "leaving the PHILCAG contingent alone". In 1968, Marcos expressed openness to the establishing of ties with the Eastern bloc countries and started the process reversing the country's anti-communist policy.[4]

In 1969, the Philippines began withdrawing its contingent and by the 1973, the recall was completed. From 1964 to 1973, nine Filipino personnel were killed in action as well as four others due to other causes.[4]The Philippine embassy in Saigon ceased operations on April 29, 1975.[1] Official ties were established with the now unified and communist Vietnam in 1976.[4]

In 1975 the Philippines accepted 30,000 Vietnamese refugees boarding naval ships of the South Vietnamese Navy which were escorted by the USS Kirk. The Marcos government initially was not amenable to accepting the refugees to avoid creating tension with the now unified Communist government in Vietnam. The United States switched the Vietnamese flags on the ships with United States flags to convince the Philippine government to receive the ships. The South Vietnamese ships were eventually turned over to the Philippine Navy.[6]

Ships turned over to the Philippine Navy

BRP Rajah Lakandula as the RVNS Trần Hưng Đạo.

BRP Miguel Malvar as the RVNS Ngọc Hồi.

The following South Vietnamese ships which escaped to the Philippines in April 1975 which were recommissioned as Philippine Navy ships.