China, Vietnam talks failed

China, Vietnam talks failed

HANOI (Reuter): Vietnam said yesterday it had failed to reach agreement with China in talks this week on the disputed Spratly and Paracel Islands in the South China Sea but they agreed to keep talking.

"These talks have brought about better understanding of each other's positions," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ho The Lan told a press briefing.

"However, it is impossible to reach agreement on such complicated questions within one or two negotiations," she said. "The two sides agreed to continue their study and negotiations."

Lan reported "remarkable progress" during the Hanoi talks on land border issues and demarcation of a frontier in the Gulf of Tonkin, north of the Paracels and Spratlys. She gave no details.

The border talks began on Monday and ended on Tuesday.