The statement was made during his meeting with Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo on the sidelines of the fourth Greater Mekong Subregion Summit (GMS-4) held in the capital city of Naypyitaw.

PM Dung attended the opening ceremony of GMS-4 together with other head delegates from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and China.

During his talk with the Chinese leader, Mr Dung highlighted the role of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the need to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and early reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

The two sides should continue to uphold the role of the Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation in concretizing the ‘joint awareness’ of the two countries’ leaders, including the implementation of the master plan for Sino-Vietnam trade and economic cooperation from 2012-2016, PM Dung added.

For his part, Chinese State Councillor Dai affirmed that the Chinese leaders are determined to solve the remaining marine-related issues between Vietnam and China. Mr Dai also said China wants to join ASEAN in implementing the DOC and starting negotiations over the COC.

• China hails Vietnam visit by Xi Jinping

• Promoting cooperation among Vietnam, Myanmar and GMS nations