Premier Wen Jiabao met Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong in Beijing yesterday and they reaffirmed their commitment to jointly promote oil and gas exploration of the South China Sea, in line with agreements with the Philippines.

It echoed views expressed when President Hu Jintao met Luong the day before and when Wen met his Vietnamese counterpart Phan Van Khai at the 2nd summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation in Kunming earlier this month.

During Hu's state visits to Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines in April, he told their leaders that China is willing to shelve disputes and engage in joint development to transform the South China Sea into "waters of friendship and cooperation" between China and ASEAN.

There have been territorial disputes among China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia in the area since the 1970s.

In November 2002, China and ASEAN adopted a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, laying the foundation for future possible commercial cooperation amongst them as well as long-term peace and stability in the region.

In March this year, three oil companies from China, Vietnam and the Philippines signed a landmark agreement in Manila to jointly prospect for oil and gas resources in the sea.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao said last Tuesday the three companies' agreement had been ratified by their governments and would be put into practice soon.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2005)