|
By Daniel Ten Kate
Bloomberg
8 June 2010
Vietnam is taking steps to peacefully resolve territorial disputes in areas of the South China Sea that may be rich in oil and gas reserves, Defense Minister General Phung Quang Thanh told a defense forum.
“Currently we step-by-step are undertaking dialogue with the countries concerned in order to address the matters of dispute,” Thanh said at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore today. “We would undertake negotiations in the spirit of good-neighborliness, friendship, cooperation and brotherhood.”
China told some international oil and gas companies to halt exploration in offshore areas that Vietnam considers part of its territory, a U.S. official told Congress last year. China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia claim all or part of the Paracel and Spratly islands, groups of rocky outcrops in the sea with unproven oil and gas deposits.
Vietnam and China recently reached a “good solution” to demarcate their land border, Thanh said. The two countries, which fought a brief border war in 1979, also agreed to joint sea patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin, he said.
“We still have disputes but we must solve them completely in line with international law,” Thanh said. “More or less we can maintain stability in this part of the sea.”
The South China Sea, stretching from Singapore to the Strait of Taiwan, is an “area of growing concern,” U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in Singapore yesterday. Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP Plc are among companies that have halted projects in the sea because of China’s objections, according to U.S. government agencies.
“We object to any effort to intimidate U.S. corporations or those of any nation engaged in legitimate economic activity,” Gates said.
|
Cheap UGG Boots for your selection! High Quality, Competitive Price, Best Service and Secure Delivery!Nowadays Ugg boots
replica handbags Carrying replica handbags a leather handbag bally handbags today can simply show off the balenciaga handbags kind of personality thomas wylde a woman has. Miu Miu replica Accessories designer watches like handbags Breguet watches have become more Breitling watches of expression versace handbags of women's personality gianni v...