Vietnam, China agree to work on maritime row

Beijing

CHINA and Vietnam have agreed to "address and control" maritime disputes, state media said on Friday, as differences over the potentially energy-rich South China Sea have roiled relations between the two countries and other neighbours.

Ties between the two nations sank to a three-decade low this year after China deployed a US$1 billion oil rig to the disputed waters which straddle key shipping lanes. Vietnam claims the portion of the sea as its exclusive economic zone, and the rig's deployment sparked a wave of bloody clashes between Vietnamese and Chinese workers in Vietnam.