In a step to resolving long-running disputes, China and Vietnam have pledged to turn contentious border areas into economic growth zones and jointly explore oil-rich offshore areas in the future.
The agreement was reached during a visit by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to Beijing, state media said.
Both countries are among claimants to the Spratly islands in the South China Sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas reserves, and claim sovereignty over the Paracel islands, which are occupied by China.
During Dung’s visit, which ended yesterday, Beijing and Hanoi “agreed to start a joint survey in the waters outside the mouth of Beibu Bay [Gulf of Tonkin] at an early date,” Xinhua news agency reported.
They would “gradually advance the negotiations on demarcation of these maritime zones and will jointly exploit the zones,” Xinhua said.
SPRATLYS SIDESTEPPED
The statement did not settle the hot-button issue of the Spratlys, a strategic string of rocky outcrops in the middle of the South China Sea that are also claimed by Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines.
But China and Vietnam pledged to “collaborate on oceanic research, environmental protection, meteorological and hydrological forecasts, oil exploration and information exchanges by the two armed forces.”
The agreement, although vague on details and timelines, signals a gradual shift in relations between East Asia’s economic giant and the southern neighbor which for many centuries was ruled by China.
The South China Sea dispute — in which Chinese naval vessels have in the past fired on Vietnamese fishing boats — has stirred strong nationalistic sentiments and sparked anti-Beijing street protests in Vietnam.
“The China-Vietnam joint declaration is a major confidence building measure between two potential protagonists,” said veteran Vietnam-watcher Carl Thayer of the Australian Defence Force Academy.
REDUCING CLASHES
“The agreement to begin work on demarcating waters outside the Tonkin Gulf will serve to reduce the area where clashes between fishermen and naval vessels are likely to occur,” he said.
Earlier this year Beijing angered Hanoi when it reportedly warned US oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp that it would be barred from operating in China unless it pulled out of a joint exploration deal with Vietnam.
Last week Dung and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) oversaw the signing of a strategic cooperation pact between state-run China National Offshore Oil Corp and PetroVietnam, reports said without giving further details.
Both countries also reaffirmed they would complete demarcation of their 1,350km land border on schedule by the end of this year.
Under both countries’ plans, Vietnam’s north is set to be transformed with industrial projects and new road and rail links that would connect China’s Yunnan and Guangxi provinces with Vietnam’s Haiphong seaport.
The “economic corridors” — part of a web of highways linking China with Southeast Asia — would help boost annual two-way trade to a targeted US$25 billion by 2010 from US$16 billion last year.
Dung also visited Hainan Province and proposed closer shipping links with Vietnam. Other deals included a US$200 million joint industrial zone in Haiphong and a light-rail project in Hanoi.
Thayer said the agreement “to proceed positively in contentious areas is a positive contribution to peace and security in the region.”
“Both Premier Wen Jiabao and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung have demonstrated statesmanship in these troubled times by not letting the rancor of nationalism trump economic development,” he said.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
RSS