Sino-Vietnamese Agreement on Beibu Gulf Demarcation HailedSigning the Sino-Vietnamese agreement on the delimitation of the Beibu Gulf territorial sea will further strengthen the bilateral friendly cooperative relations between the two countries, said a Vietnamese spokeswoman.Phan Thuy Thanh made the remarks at a regular press conference in Hanoi on Thursday. The reached solution on Sino-Vietnamese agreement on Beibu Gulf demarcation is fair and satisfactory for both sides, meeting the two countries' interests and aspirations, Thanh said. Thanh, who is also director of the Information and Press Department of the Foreign Ministry, noted that delimiting the Beibu Gulf is an objective need and was stated clearly by both sides in 1993 agreement on fundamental principles governing the settlement of maritime issues between the two countries. During the negotiations, both sides based themselves on the International Convention on the 1982 Law of the Sea, on provisions of widely recognized international law and practices, taking into account their respective circumstances in the Beibu Gulf so as to conduct negotiations in a friendly manner, Thanh added. With regard to the two countries' Treaty on Fishery Cooperation in the Beibu Gulf, Thanh said that the basic content of this treaty includes provisions on the establishment of joining fishery areas in the Beibu Gulf where both sides shall cooperate to preserve and develop fishery resources in a sustainable manner and provisions on fishery cooperation, scientific research on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, and in accordance with relevant provisions set by the United Nations Convention on the 1982 Law of the Sea and international practices. China and Vietnam signed the two agreements in Beijing on December 25, 2000, during the official goodwill visit to China by Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong. |
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