China and Vietnam should avoid escalating disputes over the China Sea. Wang Yi, from China

HANOI / SHANGHAI, September 11 (Reuters) – China and Vietnam should refrain from unilateral action related to the South China Sea that could complicate the situation and escalate disputes, a senior Chinese diplomat said Wang Yi to a Vietnamese official, as reported by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

State Minister Wang was speaking with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh during a visit to Vietnam, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Wang’s visit to Vietnam, which was part of his one-week tour of Southeast Asia, came about two weeks after the trip to the region by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Vietnamese prime minister said in a meeting with the Chinese ambassador a few hours before Harris’ visit that Vietnam was not aligned with any country against any other. Read more

China says it has historic sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, but its neighbors and the United States say the claim has no basis in international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982, to which China is a signatory.

Beijing’s claims overlap with Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, or the EEZ, as well as those of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Billions of dollars in trade flow each year through the waterway, which also contains rich fishing grounds and gas fields.

Wang said the two countries should value the peace and stability achieved in the South China Sea and be vigilant to resist the intervention of extraterritorial forces, according to the Chinese ministry statement.

Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said in a government statement that it was important for two countries to respect their legitimate rights and interests, in accordance with international law and UNCLOS.

The two sides agreed to continue to adhere strictly to high-level common perceptions, managing disagreements, avoiding complications of situations or widening disputes and jointly maintaining peace and stability in disputed waters, the Vietnamese government statement added. .

Vietnam said China would give 3 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam this year, which raised China’s total vaccine donations to the country to 5.7 million doses.

Along with Wang’s visit, the Vietnamese Defense Minister met on Saturday with his Japanese counterpart Nobuo Kishi on Kishi’s first trip abroad after taking office last year, the agency reported. Kyodo news.

Japan and Vietnam signed an agreement to export Japanese-made defense equipment and technology to the Southeast Asian country to “boost cooperation amid China’s growing assertiveness in regional waters,” Kyodo said.

The agreement was reached last year during Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s visit to Vietnam.

“Japan will speed up talks with Vietnam to sell Self-Defense Forces ships,” Kyodo said, according to Kishi.

The two ministers also agreed on the importance of maintaining peace, security, freedom of navigation and overflight, according to Kyodo.

Brenda Goh Reports; Edited by William Mallard and Alex Richardson

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