China, Vietnam ink deals ending Tonkin Gulf territorial row+

Asian Political News, Jan 1, 2001

BEIJING, Dec. 25 Kyodo

Chinese president Jiang Zemin signed two agreements late Monday afternoon with visiting Vietnamese counterpart Tran Duc Luong to settle a long-standing territorial row over resources-rich Gulf of Tonkin, the official National People's Radio reported.

According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, the pacts demarcate territorial waters and exclusive economic zones and outline fisheries cooperation in the Gulf of Tonkin, known as the Beibu Gulf in China.

Both sides stopped short of calling the agreements ''historic,'' stressing instead that they, along with Luong's visit, reflect the friendly, cooperative relationship between the two countries. It is Luong's first trip to China as president.

Beijing and Hanoi signed a 1,100-kilometer land border agreement last year after nearly 20 rounds of negotiations, settling claims on areas that were disputed since China retreated from a costly offensive into Vietnam designed to punish it for attacking ally Cambodia in 1979.

The two countries only normalized diplomatic relations in 1991 and later resumed demarcation talks that started in 1977 but were interrupted by the war.

China still claims most of the South China Sea, which is separated from the Gulf of Tonkin primarily by the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

A large area of territory and numerous islands in the sea, such as the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands, are claimed by China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei.

China's claims are by far the largest. It has its territory extending nearly to the coastlines of other countries in the region on all official maps.

Beijing has even claimed a section of Vietnam's continental shelf as part of its ''historical waters.'' It is unclear whether that dispute was settled by the agreements signed Monday.