Chinese Foreign Minister reaffirms stance

CHINESE Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Thursday reiterated the country's approach on resolving territorial disputes in the South China Sea, insisting that bilateral negotiations were the only way forward.
Mr Yang made the remarks while meeting Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem on the sidelines of a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) related meetings on the Indonesian island of Bali. Mr Yang said the two countries should take bilateral ties and regional stability into consideration, solve maritime disputes through negotiations and avoid heating up the issue again.
Mr Pham said Vietnam treasured its traditional ties with China and hoped to reach consensus with Beijing on the maritime dispute at an early date through peaceful negotiations.
On the same day, Mr Yang and his Asean counterparts officially approved guidelines on conduct in the South China Sea, a sign of progress toward the peaceful solution to the issue. The one-page document is intended to drive the process of making the 2002 Declaration of Conduct (DOC) in the South China Sea more concrete.
'This afternoon ... the ministers of China and Asean countries formally endorsed the guidelines and also started implementation - fully and comprehensively - of the DOC,' Reuters quoted Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin as saying. 'We are determined to increase our cooperation with Asean countries. We're looking to the future, we have a bright future,' he said. 'We want to be a good friend, good partner and good neighbor with Asean countries.'
Mr Yang told his Vietnamese counterpart that China highly appreciates the agreement reached by senior officials from China and Asean nations on the guidelines of the DOC and called on all sides to take substantive measures to promote practical maritime cooperation. -- CHINA DAILY/ANN