(VOVworld) – Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi met in Hanoi on Wednesday as chairmen of the Vietnam-China Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said that the Party, State, Government, and people of Vietnam treasure the neighborliness and comprehensive cooperation with China. The Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership has developed remarkably in recent years thanks to both countries’ efforts. However, China’s placement of oilrig Haiyang 981 in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf has violated international law, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, threatened regional security, maritime safety, peace and stability, hurt the feeling of the Vietnamese people, and negatively impacted cooperation between the two countries. Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh asserted Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago, Vietnam’s sovereignty and sovereignty rights to its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in line with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which Vietnam and China are signatories. He asked China to withdraw the rig and escort ships from Vietnamese waters, control the situation to avoid conflict, and negotiate to defuse tension and differences between the two countries in accordance with international law and the 1982 UNCLOS.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi said that the Party, Government and people of China attach importance to their friendship with Vietnam. He agreed that both nations should quickly stabilize the situation in the East Sea, exercise restraint to avoid conflict, prevent bilateral relations from worsening, and work together to boost all-round cooperation. He also reiterated China’s East Sea policy. The two sides said that cooperation mechanisms between both nations’ ministries, sectors and localities should continue while implementing the action program to effectively carry out the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership and holding the 7^th meeting of the Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation.

The Chinese State Councilor was later received by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. The Vietnamese party leader said that Vietnam wants to bolster its friendship and cooperation with China in both peoples’ long-term interests. He also praised positive developments in bilateral relations in recent years. The Party General Secretary stressed the seriousness and negative impacts of China’s placement of oilrig Haiyang 981 in Vietnamese waters in early May on bilateral ties and the regional situation. He said that Vietnam’s policy on its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes and other East Sea issues remains unchanged and can’t be changed. He called for early measures to stabilize the situation as the precondition for future long-term solutions for marine issues based on agreements reached by both nations’ senior leaders and international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi conveyed Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping’s greetings to the Vietnamese Party leader and other leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State. He said that the Chinese Party and Government respect and want to develop long-term and stable relations with Vietnam. He said that both countries should continue negotiations to reduce tension, settle marine issues, and maintain exchanges and cooperation in order to maintain stable bilateral ties.