Vietnam’s To Lam broaches South China Sea with Chinese Premier Li Qiang

Leaders from China and Vietnam have agreed to maintain peace in the South China Sea, just two weeks after reports of clashes between Vietnamese fishermen and the Chinese coastguard in the disputed waters.

At the start of a three-day visit to Vietnam, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Vietnamese President To Lam agreed in Hanoi on Saturday night on the importance of stability in the strategic waterway.

“Lam suggested that both sides strictly implement the high-level common perceptions, [and] direct relevant authorities to actively seek effective methods and solutions to better control and resolve disagreements,” state-run Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

He also called on the two neighbours to “enhance cooperation in accordance with the level of bilateral relations, based on international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea”.

Vietnam is among several Southeast Asian countries that have overlapping claims with China in the disputed waters, and Li’s trip had been seen as a chance for Beijing to ease tensions between the two countries.

Earlier this month, Hanoi accused the Chinese coastguard of beating Vietnamese fishermen and removing their equipment in the waters.

Beijing has appeared to be ramping up efforts to court the fellow communist neighbour amid strategic competition in the region with the United States.

Still, the Chinese statement about the meeting did not mention discussions on the South China Sea.

According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Li told Lam that China was ready to work with Vietnam to “implement the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two [communist] parties and countries”.

Li also said Beijing was keen to “carry forward the traditional friendship, strengthen high-level exchanges, enhance strategic communication, deepen solidarity and coordination” and firmly promote the building of a “community with a shared future”.

When Lam met Chinese President Xi Jinping two months ago in Beijing, they reached a consensus on “the need for better control and active handling of disagreements at sea”.

The trip was the first by Lam to another country since assuming Vietnam’s top office. He followed it in late September with a visit to New York and a meeting with US President Joe Biden, where they discussed the South China Sea.

“The two leaders reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific – especially in the South China Sea,” the White House said.

The strategic waterway was also high on the agenda last week during the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Vientiane, Laos, which Li attended before heading to Vietnam.

In a statement released on Sunday, the bloc said that at a meeting between Li and the leaders of the Asean members on Thursday: “We reaffirmed the need to enhance mutual trust and confidence, exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability and avoid actions that may further complicate the situation [in the South China Sea].”

But objections to language relating to the South China Sea prevented attendees at the East Asia Summit on Friday from releasing a consensus statement, according to Reuters.

The summit, also held in Laos, is a forum that brings together Asean countries, China, Russia, the US, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Citing an American official, the report said Russia and China blocked a proposed statement drafted by Asean countries.

Beijing has not commented on that report.

But at the summit on Friday, Li said Beijing had always insisted on resolving differences with the countries concerned through dialogue and consultation.

“Relevant countries outside the region should respect and support the joint efforts of China and regional countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea,” he added, in an apparent reference to the United States.

Li’s visit to Vietnam is his first trip to the country since taking office in March last year. It is also the first by a Chinese premier in 11 years.

Vietnam and China signed 10 agreements ranging from agriculture cooperation to cross-border QR code payments on Sunday and signed a document on updating progress on cross-border railway links, Reuters reported.

“China is willing to continue to make bigger the pie of economic and trade cooperation with Vietnam,” Li told Lam during their meeting on Saturday, according to Xinhua.

He said he hoped that the two sides would simultaneously promote the “hard connectivity” of rail, expressway and port infrastructure.

Li also pledged that China would further open its market to Vietnamese agricultural products and support the establishment of Vietnamese trade promotion offices in China, according to VNA.

On Sunday, Li held talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and laid a wreath in tribute to the late Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi.

By Orange Wang – The South China Morning Post – October 13, 2024