Russia helps Vietnam in Spratlys surveys<\/p>\n
HANOI (Reuter): Vietnam said yesterday that two Russian ships
\nhad helped its meteorologists conduct surveys in the disputed
\nSpratly Islands and other sea areas also claimed by China.<\/p>\n
The Russian vessels Pavel Gordienko and Academist Yocanski
\ntook part in studies in the area in the summers of 1993 and 1994,
\nthe official newspaper Hanoi Moi quoted the government's
\nMeteorological Department as saying.<\/p>\n
Russian and Vietnamese scientists had studied 270 points over
\na wide area of the sea \"to collect data on the sea to serve
\nmeteo-scientific, socio-economic and national defense security
\nstudies\", it said in a report on a meteorological conference here
\nlast week.<\/p>\n
It was the first time Hanoi had revealed that its former ally,
\nwhich enjoys naval facilities at the old United States base of
\nCam Ranh Bay in southern Vietnam, had helped in Spratlys
\nscientific work.<\/p>\n
The potentially oil-rich islands in the South China Sea, which
\nVietnam calls the Eastern Sea, are claimed wholly or in part by
\nVietnam, China, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines.<\/p>\n
China claims most of the South China Sea, and has been
\ninvolved in disputes with Vietnam over oil-drilling and
\nterritory.<\/p>\n
During a landmark visit to Hanoi by Chinese President Jiang
\nZemin last month, China and Vietnam agreed to set up a group of
\nexperts to discuss the Spratlys.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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