By Shannon Tiezzi
Yang Jiechi’s visit to Vietnam was full of optimism, but the China-Vietnam relationship remains fragile.
Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi was in Vietnam on Monday for a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. Their talks were held under the framework of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee on Cooperation, signaling a return to normalcy after maritime tensions earlier this year caused a rift between Beijing and Hanoi.
The last time Yang was in Vietnam, also for a meeting of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee on Cooperation, it was June 2014, and the two countries were embroiled in a testy standoff over the placement of a Chinese oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam as part of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). At that meeting, both sides dug in on their respective positions – China maintained that its oil rig was operating in uncontested waters and being unduly harassed by Vietnamese vessels and Vietnam that the oil rig was a violation of Vietnam’s EEZ and that Chinese ships in the area were ramming Vietnamese vessels.
Since then, tensions have eased markedly. China withdrew its oil rig a month ahead of schedule, in July rather than August. At the end of August, Vietnamese Politburo member Le Hong Anh visited China in an ice-breaking trip meant to solidify camaraderie between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Chinese Communist Party.
More recently, as Carl Thayer covered for The Diplomat, Vietnamese Defense Minister General Phung Quang Thanh visited Beijing in mid-October. “The importance of this visit cannot be overstated,” Thayer wrote, noting that communication between the Chinese and Vietnamese militaries is crucial for avoiding miscalculations and escalation that could led to a a minor incident ballooning to become a major crisis. During Thanh’s visit to Beijing, China and Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing a direct communication line between their respective defense ministries, a hotline that could prove invaluable in future spats.
Read the full story at The Diplomat