Territory - South China Sea

Dispute Settlement

With her economy heavily reliant on fishery in the South China Sea and 30% of her GDP coming from oil production in the disputed waters, Vietnam has been the leading adversary to China's claims in the area. But now the two countries agreed to hold talks on how to resolve the territorial conflicts. They also showed their common disregard of freedom of expression by agreeing to "strengthen public opinion guidance to prevent words and actions that would be detrimental to the friendship and mutual trust between the peoples of the two countries", an apparent reference to continued anti-China protests in Hanoi. Later, a Chinese FM spokesman urged Vietnam to implement the undertaking to speed up consultations over a pact regarding the fundamental principles on solving maritime disputes between the two nations.