China and Vietnam has agreed to join hands to promote the joint exploitation on the South China Sea during Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong's ongoing China tour. 

Chinese President Hu Jintao held a two-hour long official talks with Luong on Monday, during which he proposed that China, Vietnam and the Philippines actively fulfill their cooperation agreements and relevant consensus, in a bid to make concrete progress on the joint exploitation at an early date.

In response, Luong said Vietnam will be committed to pushing forward the joint exploitation on the South China Sea.

On Tuesday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, during his meeting with Luong, also pledged to promote the joint exploration.

The exploitation of the disputed areas on the South China Sea has been a focus of home and overseas attention for a long period.     

Ten-plus days before, on the sidelines of the second summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation in southwest China's Kunming city, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told his Vietnamese counterpart Phan Van Khai that he hoped oil companies from the three countries would start joint prospecting on the South China Sea as soon as possible.

Khai responded that Vietnam would work together with China and the Philippines to promote the development of the three-nation joint exploration.

During Hu Jintao's state visits to Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines this April, he told the three countries' top 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.

Territorial disputes emerged among China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia on the South China Sea since the 1970s, where each country claimed part of the ownership. After long-term negotiation and disputes, late senior Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping initiated his famous proposal on the issue, namely "putting aside the disputes and jointly exploiting" in the region.     

The Chinese government has made great efforts in recent years to put Deng's proposition into practice, frequently discussing with ASEAN partners specific issues such as the oceanic environmental protection,weather situation, fishing and other relevant issues.

In November 2002, China and the 10-member ASEAN adopted a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties on the South China Sea, laying a political foundation for future possible commercial cooperation between China and ASEAN countries as well as the long-term peace and stability in the region.

In March 2005, three oil companies from China, Vietnam and the Philippines signed a landmark tripartite agreement in Manila to jointly prospect oil and gas resources in the disputed South China Sea.

In a joint statement, the three parties held that the agreement showed their willingness to explore the reserve of petroleum resources within the area agreed by them. But it would not undermine the basic positions held by the governments of the relevant countries in the South China Sea.

The signing of the agreement was commonly regarded as initial practice by the Chinese side of Deng Xiaoping's proposal. It shows the three nations are taking active measures to fulfill the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said last Tuesday the agreement among the three companies had been ratified by the three countries and will be put into practice soon. "Now the two countries are discussing the pattern and terrain of joint exploitation on the South China Sea."

Local experts held that China, Vietnam and the Philippines, in a spirit of mutual benefit, flexibility and pragmatism, have cut a new path to peacefully settle the disputes on the South China Sea,and set an example for other countries to handle such kind of issue.

It is believed that as long as countries in the region actively participate in the concrete cooperation and adhere to the principle of "putting aside the disputes and jointly exploiting" the region, the goal of turning the South China Sea into peace, stability, friendship and cooperation can definitely be achieved. (Xinhua)