Legal documents enhance VN – China’s border stability, development

Nanning (VNA) – Stability, security and development in Vietnam – China land border areas have been promoted as a result of the implementation of three bilateral legal documents on the land border, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung has said.

He and his Chinese counterpart Liu Zhenmin co-chaired a meeting in China’s Nanning city on May 24 to review the five-year implementation of the protocol on border demarcation and marker planting, the agreement on border management regulations, and the agreement on border gates and land border gate management regulations.

The event was attended by officials of the two countries’ ministries of foreign affairs, public security and national defence, relevant agencies and border provinces.

Trung noted that on November 18, 2009, the Vietnamese and Chinese Governments signed the three legal documents on the land border, opening a new chapter in their land border relations.

Thanks to these documents, Vietnam and China’s authorised forces have coordinated more closely in managing and protecting border areas while timely and properly settling incidents arising.

The ensured stability and security, along with the associated socio-economic development thanks to the documents, have given a facelift to the material and spiritual life of border residents, the official noted.

He also pointed out certain bottlenecks in the three documents’ implementation. They relate to the interpretation and application of the documents’ regulations to precisely determine the direction of the borderline in some areas of complex terrain, and to build border structures.

The two sides have also encountered problems in managing workers seeking jobs cross border, together with the slow implementation of some bilateral agreements, Trung said, adding that they should also increase coordination in dealing with non-traditional security challenges.

For his part, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Liu underlined the significance and effectiveness of the legal documents.

He cited statistics that showed some 23,000 people cross through the border gates daily and cross-border trade reaches 70 million USD every day, rising threefold and fourfold from 2010 respectively.

The Chinese official emphasised that the three legal documents have heralded a new chapter in bilateral relations and created foundations for border management and peaceful settlement of disputes through consultations and negotiations.

He asked both sides’ managerial agencies to continue close and comprehensive exchanges on border cooperation and management. They should devise cooperation models, improve customs clearance, foster cross-border trade, facilitate cross-border travel and hold more friendship exchanges.

At the meeting, the two sides discussed collaboration in border management and law adherence, facilitation of customs clearance and border gate opening, cross-border economic and tourism partnerships, border transport connectivity and infrastructure building.-VNA