Vietnam, China Hold New Border Talks
HONG KONG - Vietnam and China on
Friday opened a new round of negotiations to set out their sea borders in the Gulf
of Tonkin, the foreign ministry said.
Vietnamese and Chinese experts will discuss issues linked to setting out the border
of the area which washes up against southern China and northern Vietnam, the
ministry said. The talks are due to last about a week.
The talks have dragged since 1993 and have taken place amid utmost secrecy in
both Hanoi and Beijing.
Vietnam and China have committed themselves to resolving the thorny issue by the
end of the year, after signing in December 1999 a bilateral accord drawing up their
land borders where they clashed in a brief but bloody conflict in 1979.
China and Vietnam also both dispute sovereignty of the Paracels and Spratleys
islands in the South China Sea.
Agence France Presse - September 8, 2000.
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