China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam April 1, 2018. REUTERS/Kham
Reuters: China and Vietnam call for maritime disputes to be settled
HANOI (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday China and Vietnam should settle their disputes in the South China Sea through talks and move to jointly exploit its waters.
“We have agreed that settling the maritime issues is extremely important for the healthy and sustainable development of bilateral relations,” he told reporters after a meeting with Vietnamese Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi.
China claims 90 percent of the potentially energy-rich maritime territory and has been building on and militarizing rocky outcrops and reefs in its waters.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also lay claim to parts of it, through which about $5 trillion of trade passes each year. Vietnam is the country most openly at odds with China over the issue.
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Update: Beijing, Hanoi promise to keep peace in South China Sea (ABS-CBN/AFP)
WNU Editor: China and Vietnam have had these talks before (only last year), as well as an agreement that they will resolve their differences amicably .... China, Vietnam agree to keep South China Sea tensions in check (May 15, 2017, Reuters). I predict that the same will happen with this agreement .... their differences are just too big.
