Vietnam envoy on China visit to break deadlock
August 25, 2014, 10:40 am

Vietnam on Monday has also decided to compensate the victims of the anti-China protests in May [AP]

“The visit by the Vietnamese official to China is to discuss with Chinese leaders on measures to cool down the situation and prevent tensions between the two countries from happening again,” said Le Hai Binh, spokesperson of Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry on Monday.

Le Hong Anh, a Politburo member and standing secretary of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, will visit China from Tuesday to Wednesday as the special envoy of Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee.

“The visit, made at the invitation of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, also aims to promote healthy, stable and long-term development of the bilateral relations between the two parties and two countries, which meets aspirations and interests of the two peoples,” said Binh.

Bilateral trade between the two countries has swelled to $50 billion annually.

In what could be a major breakthrough in resolving one of the worst breakdowns in relations between the two Communist states, Vietnam on Monday has also decided to compensate the victims of the anti-China protests in May.

A Chinese oil rig’s deployment set off anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam in May in which at least four people were killed. Beijing had demanded compensation for the riots earlier. Vietnam had also detained several hundred people after the violence. About a dozen have been tried and jailed for up to three years.

“China affirms the work and attitude by the Vietnamese side and hopes that Vietnam can earnestly implement the relevant measures,” said China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei on Monday.

China has accused Vietnam of ramming its ships more than 1,000 times in a part of the sea recently.

Vietnam says the Chinese platform was in its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone and on its continental shelf. China has said the rig was operating completely within territory occupied by China.

China claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea, although Vietnam and Philippines also lay contesting claims to parts into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia.

China has also cast aspersions on US moves to “provoke” tension by supporting its regional allies, Vietnam and the Philippines. US media reports have suggested the United States may soon scrap its weapons embargo on Vietnam.

 TBP and Agencies