Ramos welcomes deal on Spratlys

Ramos welcomes deal on Spratlys

MANILA (AFP): Philippine President Fidel Ramos welcomed
yesterday an agreement between China and Vietnam to discuss
territorial issues in the South China Sea.

"This will improve the atmosphere of stability, friendship and
harmony among the claimants," President Ramos told reporters at a
news conference.

He was referring to the potentially oil-rich Spratly islands,
located in the South China Sea, which are being claimed in part
or in whole by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia
and Taiwan.

China and Vietnam fought a brief but bloody naval battle over
the Spratlys in 1978 in which scores of Vietnamese sailors were
killed.

The agreement between Hanoi and Beijing was reached during
Chinese President Jiang Zemin's recent three-day visit to Vietnam
earlier this week.