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China, Vietnam seek sea border resolution "this year" [REUTERS CORRECTION] PDF Print E-mail
Reuters
25 October 2008

BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Vietnam have agreed to find a solution to a festering maritime territorial dispute this year, the two sides said in a joint statement in Beijing.

The two countries dispute sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, a string of rocky outcrops in the South China Sea suspected of containing large oil and gas deposits and also claimed by Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines.

They also agreed to consult on finding "a proper area and way of making joint exploration," the statement said, according to Xinhua news agency.

"The two countries will coordinate more closely to solve the remaining problems, so as to ensure they complete demarcation and erecting land markers along the whole borderline by year end," Xinhua quoted the joint statement as saying.

China supported the Vietnamese Communists in their decades-long war against South Vietnam and its U.S. sponsors.

But Vietnam has traditionally been wary of its larger Asian neighbor and in 1979 the two countries fought a brief border war after Vietnam occupied Cambodia and overthrew the murderous Khmer Rouge regime that favored Beijing.

Beijing and Hanoi normalized relations in 1991.

In 1988, China and Vietnam fought a brief naval battle near one of the Spratly reefs in which more than 70 Vietnamese sailors died.

Another set of islets further north of the Spratly group, the Paracel Islands, were seized by China in 1974 and have been occupied by them ever since despite Vietnamese protests.

In July, China told Exxon Mobil Corp to pull out of an oil exploration deal with Vietnam that it saw as a breach of Chinese sovereignty.

(Reporting by Nick Macfie; Editing by David Fox)

CORRECTED - CORRECTED-China, Vietnam seek land border solution "this year"

(Recasts to make clear 2008 target date to solve dispute is for land, not sea, border)

BEIJING, Oct 25 (Reuters) - China and Vietnam, which fought a brief but bloody border war in 1979, have agreed to find a solution to a land territorial dispute this year, the two sides said in a joint statement in Beijing.

They also agreed to find a "basic and lasting" solution to a festering maritime territorial dispute.

The two countries dispute sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, a string of rocky outcrops in the South China Sea suspected of containing large oil and gas deposits and also claimed by Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines.

They also agreed to consult on finding "a proper area and way of making joint exploration", the statement said, according to Xinhua news agency.

"The two countries will coordinate more closely to solve the remaining problems, so as to ensure they complete demarcation and erecting land markers along the whole borderline by year end," Xinhua quoted the joint statement as saying.

China supported the Vietnamese Communists in their decades-long war against South Vietnam and its U.S. sponsors.

But Vietnam has traditionally been wary of its larger Asian neighbour and in 1979 the two countries fought a brief border war after Vietnam occupied Cambodia and overthrew the murderous Khmer Rouge regime that favoured Beijing.

Beijing and Hanoi normalised relations in 1991.

In 1988, China and Vietnam fought a brief naval battle near one of the Spratly reefs in which more than 70 Vietnamese sailors died.

Another set of islets further north of the Spratly group, the Paracel Islands, were seized by China in 1974 and have been occupied by them ever since despite Vietnamese protests.

In July, China told Exxon Mobil Corp to pull out of an oil exploration deal with Vietnam that it saw as a breach of Chinese sovereignty.

(Reporting by Nick Macfie)


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Tony   |10-25-2008 07:57:37
There are only two months left in this year. Somehow, I can't imagine a solution being reached that would satisfy the Vietnamese people at this time.

This is even more unbelievable in light of China's continuous aggressive and unreasonable actions lately in the region. If a solution is reached, it would most likely be something that Vietnamese leaders are pressured into by Beijing who has the upperhand at the negotiation table. China doesn't opt only for bilateral negotiations and against multi-lateral negotiations an settlement for no reason.

During this time, it is even more urgent that Vietnamese people urge their leaders to take a firm stance on the South China Sea and to resist Beijing's pressures as much as possible so that China does not end up having control over what does not rightfully belong to it.

It is equally urgent that we Vietnamese inform the international community of China's deceptions and ambitions so that the world would be properly alerted to the consequences of a having China as the regional hegemon

Even if at this time, the Vietnamese government's position at the bargaining table is weak compared to that of China, it does not mean that we Vietnamese cannot voice our opinion regarding the situation in defense of territorial integrity of South East Asia in general, and of Vietnam in particular.
Pentagon   |10-25-2008 21:28:08
I agree Tony, close-door bilateral deals between Beijing and Hanoi have always been Chinesely beneficial. Beijing rhetorically shows the cake of friendship with the taste of hegemony. So much for such a friendship.
It would be patriotically lovely if Hanoi officials internally open communication with Vietnamese people on social/national issues in balance with their negotiations managing the world's diplomacy support. Reconciliation will only facilitate effective national defense in the face of "China's peaceful rise."
Oil is so critical that Hanoi is being tough and firm. However, despite some recent clever moves, Hanoi might be under pressure to cooperate ONLY with Beijing in the oil business in the Eastern Sea.
It is worse than a nightmare if this speculation becomes reality...
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