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.