Premier Wen Jiabao
met Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong in Beijing yesterday and
they reaffirmed their commitment to jointly promote oil and gas
exploration of the South China Sea, in line with agreements with
the Philippines.
It echoed views expressed when President Hu Jintao
met?Tran the day before and when Wen met his Vietnamese
counterpart Phan Van Khai at the 2nd summit of the Greater Mekong
Subregion Economic Cooperation in Kunming earlier this month.
During Hu's state visits to Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines
in April, he told their leaders that China is willing to shelve
disputes and engage in joint development to transform the South
China Sea into "waters of friendship and cooperation" between China
and ASEAN.
There have been territorial disputes among China, Vietnam, the
Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia in the area since the 1970s.
In November 2002, China and ASEAN adopted a Declaration on the
Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, laying the
foundation for future possible commercial cooperation among them as
well as long-term peace and stability in the region.
In March this year, three oil companies from China, Vietnam and the
Philippines signed a landmark agreement in Manila to jointly
prospect for oil and gas resources in the sea.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao said last Tuesday the
three companies' agreement had been ratified by their governments
and would be put into practice soon.
(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2005)