China Power

Ahead of Drills in South China Sea, Chinese Foreign Minister Visits Vietnam

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China Power

Ahead of Drills in South China Sea, Chinese Foreign Minister Visits Vietnam

China and Vietnam agree to “cautiously handle maritime issues.”

Ahead of Drills in South China Sea, Chinese Foreign Minister Visits Vietnam

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh shake hands in Hanoi, Vietnam (April 1, 2018).

Credit: AP photo

From March 30 to April 2, Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister as well as a member of the State Council, paid an official four-day visit to Vietnam. Officially, Wang was in Vietnam this time mainly to attend the sixth Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting. But the disputed South China Sea issue apparently dominated the hidden agenda for both countries, particularly at a time when China has been intensifying military drills in South China Sea.

As The Diplomat has been following, on March 23, the U.S. warship USS Mustin carried out a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea and passed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China.

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