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Agence France-Presse

Vietnam and China agreed Monday to avoid conflicts in the hotly contested South China Sea, as a new pathway to dialogue on easing tensions was opened with other Southeast Asian nations.
The communist neighbours have long sparred over the sea, through which $5 trillion in shipping trade passes annually and which is believed to sit atop vast gas reserves.
Hanoi and Beijing agreed Monday to keep the peace in the sea, the countries said in a joint statement during a state visit to Hanoi by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
They agreed to “well manage disputes at sea, make no moves that may complicate or expand disputes, (and) maintain peace and stability on the East Sea,” the Vietnamese version of the statement said, using Hanoi’s term for the waters.
‘Better left untouched’: Philippines and Vietnam wary of Trump offer to mediate South China Sea disputes.
China claims nearly all of the sea, even approaching the coasts of its neighbours. It is also partly claimed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan in addition to Vietnam.
China has in recent years built artificial islands and airstrips capable of hosting military installations in contested areas to cement its claims, inflaming tensions with its neighbours.

Relations between China and Vietnam hit a low in 2014 when Beijing moved an oil rig into waters claimed by Vietnam, sparking weeks of protests.
There have been two armed conflicts between China and Vietnam in the sea -- brief clashes in 1974 and 1988 that claimed the lives of dozens of Vietnamese troops.
On Sunday US President Donald Trump offered to help Vietnam resolve the long-simmering tensions.
“If I can help mediate or arbitrate, please let me know... I am a very good mediator,” Trump said on his own state visit to Hanoi at the tail end of his marathon tour of Asia.
Vietnam offered no response.
Was Donald Trump’s fiery Apec speech a response to waning US influence in Asia-Pacific?
And China, which has long insisted the United States has no role to play in the dispute, spoke out against what it deemed foreign interference.
“We hope non-regional countries can respect the regional countries’ efforts in maintaining the regional stability of the South China Sea, and play a constructive role in this aspect,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.
Trump was in Manila on Monday for meetings with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and several other countries.
Xi Jinping calls on China, Vietnam to work together to settle South China Sea disputes
At that meeting China and ASEAN, which includes Vietnam, announced on Monday night they had agreed to begin talks on a much-delayed code of conduct for the sea.


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The Philippines wants to seal South China Sea code of conduct. Can it deliver?

New US-led minerals bloc renews pressure on Asia to pick sides

Will new High Seas Treaty open a fresh front line in South China Sea disputes?

Vietnam

Vietnam and China agree to avoid conflicts in South China Sea

China's President Xi Jinping (L) and Vietnam's Communist Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong wave toward pupils holding Vietnamese and Chinese flags during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam November 12, 2017. Photo: Reuters

Chinese oil rig Haiyang Shi You 981 is seen surrounded by ships of China Coast Guard in the South China Sea, about 210 km (130 miles) off shore of Vietnam May 14, 2014. Vietnamese ships were followed by Chinese vessels as they neared China's oil rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea on Wednesday, Vietnam's Coast Guard said. Vietnam has condemned as illegal the operation of a Chinese deepwater drilling rig in what Vietnam says is its territorial water in the South China Sea and has told China's state-run oil company to remove it. China has said the rig was operating completely within its waters. REUTERS/Nguyen Minh (POLITICS MARITIME ENERGY)

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South China Sea