Hanoi hopeful over maritime row with Beijing
Disputes can be solved, says PM

Greg Torode, Chief Asia correspondent

Vietnam and China were "fully capable" of solving lingering maritime disputes, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said yesterday.

In a statement to the South China Morning Post on the eve of an official visit to Hong Kong today, Mr Dung said recent agreements with Beijing over the Sino-Vietnamese land border and the demarcation of the Tonkin Gulf showed that remaining issues could be tackled with "the spirit of fraternal comradeship, friendly negotiations and mutual interests".

Both sides had agreed to turn their efforts towards "maritime issues, maintenance of peace and stability at sea, and the intensification of co-operation".

"Both sides will join efforts to seek fundamental, long-lasting and mutually acceptable solutions to issues at sea," Mr Dung said.

He described the placement of border markers along the 1,400km land border - the scene of a brief but bloody border war 30 years ago - as "an event of great significance in the history of Vietnam-China relations".

In wide-ranging written answers to questions from the Post, Mr Dung also said Hong Kong and Vietnam had to make greater efforts to unleash the "enormous" potential in their relationship, and expressed hopes that Vietnam's developing economy would show higher growth this year after the downturn in the last two quarters.

His comments on disputes related to the South China Sea, which Vietnam calls the Eastern Sea, are likely to be closely watched around the region as long-simmering tensions show signs of escalating.

Last month, Chinese vessels blocked a US naval surveillance ship in waters off Hainan Island. Beijing also earlier objected to an oil exploration deal between US oil giant ExxonMobil and Hanoi involving seas off Vietnam's southern and central coasts.

Vietnam and China are the only two nations to claim the South China Sea's Spratly and Paracel archipelagos in their entirety. Taiwan has a claim that mirrors that of Beijing.

The island groupings - occupied by both militaries - straddle some of the world's most important shipping lanes, and are considered potentially rich in oil and gas deposits.

Diplomatic and military analysts believe Vietnam is growing increasingly nervous of China's naval expansion in the area, moves that have seen Hanoi court military ties with its former enemy, the United States, and other regional powers.

Mr Dung expressed optimism about the China relationship, noting that increasingly regular visits and connections between Communist Party and government leaders had proved the "decisive factor" in forging substantive ties. The leaders now have a hotline in place to further smooth ties, while lower-level ties between provinces and social groups would also continue to expand.

"Developing Vietnam-China relations is the consistent policy and top priority in Vietnam's foreign policy," he said, outlining Hanoi's commitments to the Comprehensive Strategic Co-operative Partnership signed last year between President Hu Jintao and Vietnam's Communist Party chief, General Secretary Nong Duc Manh.

China is now Vietnam's biggest trading partner, but investment flows from the north are well below those towards other regional players like South Korea, Singapore and Japan.

Hong Kong firms remain key investors, traders and bankers, having been some of the first into the country in the difficult days of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Mr Dung said he would be talking with Hong Kong government and business leaders about developing the relationship into the cultural, education and tourism fields.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen will host Mr Dung at a dinner tonight, and the prime minister is due to address an investment conference on Vietnam today.

His visit marks the first official mission by a senior Vietnamese leader to Hong Kong.