China Reasserts Claim On South China Sea Islands, But Says It's Open To Talks With Vietnam

BEIJING, CHINA: China reasserted its claim of ownership over disputed islands in the South China Sea on Thursday (24 Jan), but said it willing to negotiate territorial disputes with Vietnam.Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu's statement follows meetings Wednesday (23 Jan) at which the sides announced a consensus to "properly handle their dispute over the South China Sea," but gave few details."We posses indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and the adjoining waters," Jiang said at a regularly scheduled news conference."We have exchanged views with Vietnam on many occasions and agreed to solve these disputes through negotiations and safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea as well as in China-Vietnam relations," she said.The two countries' competing claims to two island groups, the Paracels and Spratlys, have in the past led to military confrontation. Hanoi in November protested Chinese military exercises in the Paracels, calling them a violation of Vietnamese sovereignty.The dispute over the Paracels dates back decades, while the Spratlys are also claimed by several other neighboring countries. Wednesday's talks were co-chaired by Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, a senior foreign policy adviser, and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem.Also Thursday, Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan met with Nguyen Huy Hieu, Vietnamese deputy minister of defense, with both "vowing to deepen ties between the two countries and the two armed forces," according to China's official Xinhua News Agency. (AP)

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