Territorial disputes in the East Vietnam Sea were the focus of discussions between the defense chiefs of Vietnam and China during the Chinese minister’s visit to Hanoi on March 26-28, the Vietnam News Agency has reported.

Colonel General Chang Wanquan, China’s Minister of National Defense, paid an official friendly visit to Vietnam from March 26 to 28 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart General Phung Quang Thanh.

During the opening session on Sunday at the defense ministry's headquarters in the Vietnamese capital, Minister Thanh underlined that Minister Chang’s visit was a favorable opportunity for bilateral defense cooperation between the two ministries and the realization of directions from the two Parties and governments.

The Vietnamese minister also regarded the visit as an opportunity to execute bilateral defense agreements to strengthen mutual political confidence and promote defense cooperation relations between the two countries.

Minister Chang expressed gratitude for the friendly and lavish reception on Vietnam’s side, and extended his invitation to the Vietnamese minister to visit China on a suitable date.

The defense chiefs discussed the two nations and armies’ relationship during the official talks, agreeing that bilateral relations on the whole are making positive progress, whereas defense cooperation has been continuously maintained over the past years and proved to be practically effective.

In notable proceedings, the ministers constructively discussed maritime disputes in the East Vietnam Sea that had affected the two nations’ relations, and insisted on a comprehensive settlement through peaceful and friendly negotiations.

The resolution of disputes, the ministers added, must go in line with legal models and principles specified in international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Minister Thanh and Minister Chang also promised to jointly seek fundamental and long-term solutions to disputes approved by both nations; with strict adherance to mutual agreements and understanding achieved by the countries’ senior leaders; that is, to strictly implement the principles of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Vietnam Sea (DOC) toward the adoption of the Code of Conduct for the sea (COC).

The ministers shared a common vision of making the East Vietnam Sea a peaceful, friendly, and cooperative body of water, contributing to Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and regional peace and order.

The two parties agreed that their armies must act in a composed and assertive manner, without using or threatening to use violence; prevent conflicts and promote the maintenance of peace, order, cooperation, and bilateral, regional, and international interests; and enhance actual, effective, stable, and sustainable cooperation to reaffirm the essential role of defense cooperation in the traditional relationship of solidarity and friendliness between the two nations.

The defense chiefs expressed their mutual contentment over the success of the visit, the aim of which they said was to realize defense agreements achieved by the nations’ leaders in the past years.

During the meeting, the ministers also signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation in UN peacekeeping missions.

The Chinese defense minister and his delegation were also received by General Secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong at the headquarters of the Party Central Committee in Hanoi on Sunday.

The General Secretary proposed that the two parties continue to maintain senior meetings and effectively implement defense cooperation mechanisms such as defense policy dialogues, joint patrols at the Gulf of Tonkin and along shared borders, defense exchanges, and more to contribute to the continuous consolidation of Sino-Vietnamese peaceful, stable, friendly, and cooperative relations.

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