South China Sea Dispute: Top Beijing Diplomat Set for Hanoi Talks to Smooth Waters

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China’s leading diplomat has arranged to visit Vietnam next week, five months since tensions between the two countries erupted over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

Yang Jiechi will meet with Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on 27 October, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement, where the two will discuss “Sino-Vietnam bilateral cooperation.”

The two countries came to blows in May when a massive Chinese oil rig entered disputed waters close to the Paracel island chain. Both countries’ navies reported incidents of maritime aggression, claiming the other sides’ ships had rammed into their own.

The flare-up sparked anti-China violence in Vietnam, where rioters torched a number of factories they mistook for Chinese businesses.

 

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/south-china-sea-dispute-top-beijing-diplomat-set-hanoi-talks-smooth-waters-1471568

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