~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

[Year 1997]
[Year 1998]
[Year 1999]
[Year 2000]
[Year 2001]
[Year 2002]

Vietnam says settling thorny China border issue

HANOI - Vietnam said on Thursday it is settling a thorny border dispute with its northern neighbour China through the ceremonial placement of markers that will take place over three years. Vietnam and China have been bickering over their 1,350 km (838 miles) boundary for decades, and dissidents have accused the Vietnamese government of giving up too much land to China.

Phan Thuy Thanh, the spokeswoman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, told reporters on Thursday the issue was being resolved with the gradual laying of markers, the latest on July 13 at the western section in Lao Cai province.

"This presents another important step forward in the process of settling land border issues, creating favourable conditions for installing other border markers along the entire border between Vietnam and China," she said. Thanh said major markers -- over 1,500 will be put up in the next three years -- would be installed in the provinces of Ha Giang, Lai Chau and Cao Bang.

The border accords with China have not been made public. Dissidents say Vietnam has made too many concessions to Vietnam's much bigger neighbour, which although a communist ally is also a traditional rival. In January, Hanoi placed journalist Bui Minh Quoc under house arrest after he investigated the controversial border deal. Vietnam confirmed his detention without giving a reason for it, but denied the move was to silence such criticism.

Reuters - July 18, 2002