Vietnam - China discuss border and territorial issues

From April 16 to 17, in Ho Chi Minh City and Phu Quoc, Mr. Le Hoai Trung, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, held an annual meeting with Chinese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Zhenmin during his working visit to Vietnam. The meeting focused on promoting cooperation in various fields and border and territorial issues between the two countries.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung

At the meeting, the two sides agreed that over the past year, the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has continued to progress positively overall. In the coming time, the two sides agreed to increase high-level exchanges and contacts, consolidate political trust, expand people-to-people exchanges; promote mutually beneficial substantive cooperation; and properly control and resolve disagreements.

In terms of economy and trade, the two sides need to implement practical measures to promote stable, balanced and sustainable development of bilateral trade; resolve specific issues such as accelerating the progress and ensuring the quality of infrastructure projects, industrial parks and factories contracted by China; effectively implementing loans and non-refundable aid from China to Vietnam; and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation between localities of the two countries.

Deputy Minister Le Hoai Trung thanked China for recently increasing the water discharge to the lower Mekong River to help overcome drought and saltwater intrusion in Vietnam's Mekong Delta region and suggested that the two sides continue long-term cooperation in the management and sustainable use of Mekong River water resources.

The two sides agreed to continue promoting the role of the Vietnam-China Joint Committee on Land Border; effectively and promptly summarize the five-year implementation of three documents on land border management; and jointly maintain stability, cooperation and development of the two countries' border areas.

The two sides had a frank discussion on maritime issues, agreed to promote existing negotiation mechanisms to achieve substantive progress, and strive to implement cooperation projects agreed upon by both sides.

Deputy Minister Le Hoai Trung expressed Vietnam's deep concern over the tense situation and consequences of recent complicated developments in the East Sea; reiterated the need to strictly comply with agreements and common perceptions of senior leaders of the two Parties and two countries, especially the "Agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of maritime issues between Vietnam and China"; well control disagreements at sea, do not take actions that complicate or expand disputes; resolve disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; fully implement the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea" (DOC), and soon complete the development of the "Code of Conduct in the East Sea" (COC) with ASEAN countries.

On this occasion, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong, Member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and Mr. Mai Anh Nhin, Vice Chairman of the Kien Giang Provincial People's Committee received Deputy Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin and the Chinese delegation./.

According to VOV