(VOVworld) - Foreign State Secretary Markus Ederer on Tuesday voiced Germany’s support for peaceful settlement of disputes in the East Sea in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Germany condemns unilateral actions complicating situation in the East Sea, Ederer told Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh at a meeting in Hanoi, after being informed about China’s illegal placement of its drilling rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in the territorial waters of Vietnam and its provocation in the East Sea. At the meeting, both sides noted that the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Germany is developing positively in politics-diplomacy, economics, development cooperation, education, and science-technology. They agreed to prepare high-level reciprocal visits to celebrate 40 years of diplomatic ties in 2015, and speed up key projects, such as the German House, the metro line No2, and the Vietnam-Germany University, all in HCM City. Mr. Minh welcomed Germany’s decision to host the 14^th Asia-Pacific Conference on German Businesses (APK) in HCM City in November 2014, and pledged to support Germany in making the event a great success. Germany vowed to help Vietnam strengthen comprehensive cooperation with the EU, and lobby EU member states to soon ratify the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with Vietnam, and soon recognize Vietnam’s market economy status.