Vietnamese Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh has discussed with his Chinese counterpart the incident on May 26 when Chinese marine surveillance vessels cut the cables of a Vietnamese ship when the ship was conducting seismic surveys within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zones.
At a meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Liang Guanglie on the sidelines of the Asian Security Summit (Shangri-la dialogue 10) in Singapore on June 3, Minister Thanh stressed that the incident raises disquiet among the public and concerns of Party and State leaders in Vietnam.
According to Thanh, the Vietnam-China relations are seeing fine developments, and the Vietnamese Party, State, army and people always attach importance to the solidarity, friendship and comprehensive cooperation with China, but there still remains the East Sea sovereignty dispute and it is regrettable that unexpected incidents still happen sometimes.
The Vietnamese Defence Minister proposed that lower-ranking agencies of the two countries strictly adhere to the commitments of their leaders, stressing that the two sides need to keep calm and settle the issue peacefully through dialogues based on international laws, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) and Declaration on the Conduct of Parties on the East Sea (DOC), a document signed between ASEAN and China.
Thanh noted that the two sides should cooperate with each other and restrain themselves to the utmost in order to prevent the recurrence of similar cases, which, he said, will affect bilateral relations between the two countries and the image of China in the region.
Upon the request of the Shangri-la dialogue’s organising committee, Minister Thanh will deliver a speech on the theme of “Coping with new sea security challenges” at the plenary session, which will touch upon Binh Minh 02 ship’s case in an objective way so that the region and the world gain a correct understanding of the incident.
Minister Liang, who attended the Shangri-la dialogue for the first time, informed that he will make a speech on China’s future security cooperation which focuses on the country’s commitment to peaceful and “win-win” development at the dialogue.
Minister Thanh welcomed his Chinese counterpart’s participation in the Shangri-la Dialogue to contribute to regional peace and stability, adding that Liang’s speech will receive the attention of Vietnam and the international community.
He also thanked the Chinese Defence Minister for his attendance and positive contribution to the success of the first ADMM Plus and spoke highly of the recent Vietnam visit by Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, Senior Lieutenant-General Guo Boxiong, saying that the visit left good impression.
Minister Liang agreed with the Vietnamese minister’s assessment on the fine development of Vietnam-China relations, and the existed issue between the two countries concerning sovereignty dispute in the East Sea.
China’s view point is to settle the East Sea dispute through diplomatic negotiations, the Chinese defence minister said.
He added that China is willing to discuss the issue at multilateral forums and protests any unilateral actions.
“China is committed to maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea and fully implementing the DOC,” he said.
Minister Liang also agreed with the Vietnamese minister the two sides should obey international laws, including the UNCLOS 1982 and other documents.
”The two armies need to cooperate more closely. We do not want similar cases to happen in the future,” Liang said, stressing that the China People’s Liberation Army was not involved in the latest incident.
According to Minister Thanh, the East Sea dispute may require a long time for settlement. Therefore, the two countries’ diplomatic sectors need to conduct peaceful negotiations and the leaders of the two countries should hold dialogues and put forth solutions acceptable by both sides.
Vietnam is willing to cooperate with China for development at areas in actual dispute in accordance with the UNCLOS 1982, he said.
Thanh asked that the two countries’ armies keep calm and restrain themselves to prevent conflicts and set an example in implementing the two countries’ leaders’ commitments of becoming good comrades, good neighbours, good friends and good partners.
The same day, Defence Minister Thanh had bilateral meetings with New Zealand’s Defence Minister, Wayne Mapp, and Mongolian Defence Minister, Luvsanvandan Bold./.
At a meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Liang Guanglie on the sidelines of the Asian Security Summit (Shangri-la dialogue 10) in Singapore on June 3, Minister Thanh stressed that the incident raises disquiet among the public and concerns of Party and State leaders in Vietnam.
According to Thanh, the Vietnam-China relations are seeing fine developments, and the Vietnamese Party, State, army and people always attach importance to the solidarity, friendship and comprehensive cooperation with China, but there still remains the East Sea sovereignty dispute and it is regrettable that unexpected incidents still happen sometimes.
The Vietnamese Defence Minister proposed that lower-ranking agencies of the two countries strictly adhere to the commitments of their leaders, stressing that the two sides need to keep calm and settle the issue peacefully through dialogues based on international laws, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) and Declaration on the Conduct of Parties on the East Sea (DOC), a document signed between ASEAN and China.
Thanh noted that the two sides should cooperate with each other and restrain themselves to the utmost in order to prevent the recurrence of similar cases, which, he said, will affect bilateral relations between the two countries and the image of China in the region.
Upon the request of the Shangri-la dialogue’s organising committee, Minister Thanh will deliver a speech on the theme of “Coping with new sea security challenges” at the plenary session, which will touch upon Binh Minh 02 ship’s case in an objective way so that the region and the world gain a correct understanding of the incident.
Minister Liang, who attended the Shangri-la dialogue for the first time, informed that he will make a speech on China’s future security cooperation which focuses on the country’s commitment to peaceful and “win-win” development at the dialogue.
Minister Thanh welcomed his Chinese counterpart’s participation in the Shangri-la Dialogue to contribute to regional peace and stability, adding that Liang’s speech will receive the attention of Vietnam and the international community.
He also thanked the Chinese Defence Minister for his attendance and positive contribution to the success of the first ADMM Plus and spoke highly of the recent Vietnam visit by Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, Senior Lieutenant-General Guo Boxiong, saying that the visit left good impression.
Minister Liang agreed with the Vietnamese minister’s assessment on the fine development of Vietnam-China relations, and the existed issue between the two countries concerning sovereignty dispute in the East Sea.
China’s view point is to settle the East Sea dispute through diplomatic negotiations, the Chinese defence minister said.
He added that China is willing to discuss the issue at multilateral forums and protests any unilateral actions.
“China is committed to maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea and fully implementing the DOC,” he said.
Minister Liang also agreed with the Vietnamese minister the two sides should obey international laws, including the UNCLOS 1982 and other documents.
”The two armies need to cooperate more closely. We do not want similar cases to happen in the future,” Liang said, stressing that the China People’s Liberation Army was not involved in the latest incident.
According to Minister Thanh, the East Sea dispute may require a long time for settlement. Therefore, the two countries’ diplomatic sectors need to conduct peaceful negotiations and the leaders of the two countries should hold dialogues and put forth solutions acceptable by both sides.
Vietnam is willing to cooperate with China for development at areas in actual dispute in accordance with the UNCLOS 1982, he said.
Thanh asked that the two countries’ armies keep calm and restrain themselves to prevent conflicts and set an example in implementing the two countries’ leaders’ commitments of becoming good comrades, good neighbours, good friends and good partners.
The same day, Defence Minister Thanh had bilateral meetings with New Zealand’s Defence Minister, Wayne Mapp, and Mongolian Defence Minister, Luvsanvandan Bold./.
