Beijing and Hanoi reach deal over South China Sea
Vice-ministers sign deal that ends months of tensions between Communist allies. It calls for immediate steps and a long-term solution to limit the claims of other nations, including Japan and the United States. Chinese President Hu Jintao meets Vietnamese Communist Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Beijing and Hanoi have reached a deal to reduce tensions in the South China Sea. Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun and his Vietnamese counterpart, Ho Xuan Son, signed the six-point agreement, which outlines a series of immediate measures and calls for a long-term solution. Posted on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website yesterday, the agreement was made during a visit to China by the General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, for talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
In recent months, diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam reached an old time low. In Vietnam, the authorities had a hard time containing anti-Chinese demonstrations by nationalists, activists and religious leaders (see “Vietnamese take to streets against Beijing’s incursions in the South China Sea,” in AsiaNews, 4 June 2011).
Protesters claim Vietnamese sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel Islands, which are the centre of a bitter dispute. The agreement sets up a hotline to deal with potential maritime conflicts and calls for special meetings in case of need.
Beijing and Hanoi also agreed to solve their dispute through “friendly consultations”, exploring “interim and temporary solutions” whilst seeking a long-term resolution.
For local analysts and international experts, cooperation between the two countries is crucial for each to continue cracking down on domestic dissidents. A closer Beijing-Hanoi axis (which China playing big brother defending its junior Communist ally) is also essential to counter claims by other nations in South East Asia and oppose other players, like Japan and the United States.
Among the nations of the Asia-Pacific region, China has the most extensive maritime claims in the South China Sea, including the Spratly and Paracel Islands, which are uninhabited by rich in natural resources. Holding hegemonic sway over the area would be strategically important for trade and access to natural resources, including oil and natural gas.
China’s expansionist claims are challenged by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, joined by the United States, which has strategic interests of its own in the area.
Washington is particularly active behind the scene in building a coalition to counter China’s expansionism. The Philippines and Japan are its leading members, but Vietnam too could become a major ally in the potentially conflictual scenario developing in the Asia-Pacific region.
In recent months, diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam reached an old time low. In Vietnam, the authorities had a hard time containing anti-Chinese demonstrations by nationalists, activists and religious leaders (see “Vietnamese take to streets against Beijing’s incursions in the South China Sea,” in AsiaNews, 4 June 2011).
Protesters claim Vietnamese sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel Islands, which are the centre of a bitter dispute. The agreement sets up a hotline to deal with potential maritime conflicts and calls for special meetings in case of need.
Beijing and Hanoi also agreed to solve their dispute through “friendly consultations”, exploring “interim and temporary solutions” whilst seeking a long-term resolution.
For local analysts and international experts, cooperation between the two countries is crucial for each to continue cracking down on domestic dissidents. A closer Beijing-Hanoi axis (which China playing big brother defending its junior Communist ally) is also essential to counter claims by other nations in South East Asia and oppose other players, like Japan and the United States.
Among the nations of the Asia-Pacific region, China has the most extensive maritime claims in the South China Sea, including the Spratly and Paracel Islands, which are uninhabited by rich in natural resources. Holding hegemonic sway over the area would be strategically important for trade and access to natural resources, including oil and natural gas.
China’s expansionist claims are challenged by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, joined by the United States, which has strategic interests of its own in the area.
Washington is particularly active behind the scene in building a coalition to counter China’s expansionism. The Philippines and Japan are its leading members, but Vietnam too could become a major ally in the potentially conflictual scenario developing in the Asia-Pacific region.
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