Vietnamese, Chinese foreign ministers discuss South China Sea, Ukraine issues

Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn (R) has telephone talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday. — VNA/VnExpress News Photo 

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn had telephone talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi late Thursday.

Sơn congratulated China on its achievements in socio-economic development and external relations, expressing his belief that China will successfully organise the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China in this year.

He affirmed that Việt Nam attaches great importance to and hopes to further bolster the Vieejt Nam-China ties in a stable and sustainable manner.

For his part, Wang affirmed that the Party and Government of China are interested in further developing the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Việt Nam, considering it a priority in its neighbourhood diplomatic strategy.

Both sides shared delight at the sound progress in the relations between the two Parties and countries, and concurred to continue increasing high-level exchanges and meeting, promoting practical cooperation across all fields, strengthening coordination in facilitating bilateral trade and removing barriers in border trade, and soon recognising each other’s vaccine passport to make travelling and exchange activities easier.

They had an open and straightforward discussion on the sea issues and agreed to work hard together to control and deal with disputes in the spirit of respecting each other’s legitimate rights and interest, strictly implementing agreements on the basic principles guiding the settlement of Việt Nam-China sea-related issues and international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, and together with ASEAN reaching positive progress for the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).

The two foreign ministers also exchanged viewpoints on regional and international matters of shared concern, including the Ukraine issue.

The Vietnamese diplomat underlined Việt Nam’s consistent policy of supporting the settlement of disputes and differences by peaceful measures in line with the UN Charter and fundamental principles of international law, ensuring security and safety for civilians, and protecting basic civil infrastructure system.

Việt Nam supports and is willing to make positive contributions to humanitarian relief activities, diplomatic processes, dialogues and negotiations as well as the reconstruction and recovery process in Ukraine, Sơn stated. — VnExpress News