On May 26 last year PetroVietnam vessel Binh Minh 2 had its exploration cables severed by a Chinese marine surveillance vessel some 120 nautical miles off the central Vietnamese coast.
Two weeks later Viking II, a Norwegian ship contracted by a PetroVietnam joint venture, was also harassed by Chinese ships.
Later a visit to China in October by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong saw the signing of an agreement setting out a basic legal framework for negotiating and resolving sea disputes between the two countries.
China and Vietnam agreed to follow the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2002 Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, also known as the South China Sea, while resolving disputes through negotiations.
(Source: Thanh Nien News)
