South China Sea: US, Vietnam jointly reject ‘threat or use of force’ to settle disputes

Name: Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at its vessels in disputed waters
Uploaded: 2023-09-11T07:35:08.000Z
Duration: 2 min 13 s
Description: Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at its vessels in disputed waters

US President Joe Biden and Vietnam’s Nguyen Phu Trong said on Monday that international norms must be used to settle competing claims in the waterway

They also called for ‘freedom of navigation and overflight and unimpeded lawful commerce in the South China Sea’, a day after deepening cooperation

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Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party (front right), at a welcome ceremony for US President Joe Biden (front left) in Hanoi on Sunday. Photo: AP

Agence France-Presse

Published: 3:35pm, 11 Sep 2023

The United States and Vietnam warned on Monday against the “threat or use of force” in the disputed South China Sea, days after the latest clash involving Chinese vessels.

US President Joe Biden and Vietnam’s Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong said the competing claims on the strategic waterway must be settled under international norms.

Beijing claims almost the entire sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

“The leaders underscored their unwavering support for the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, without the threat or use of force,” Biden and Trong said in a joint statement.

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Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at its vessels in disputed waters

They also called for “freedom of navigation and overflight and unimpeded lawful commerce in the South China Sea”.

The statement came a day after Biden and Trong struck a deal to deepen cooperation, widely seen as a way to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the region.