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Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Dung affirmed that it is impossible for “Vietnam to lose its land” or have its “land sliced off” for another country as some foreign websites are reporting.

Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Dung

The heads of the Vietnamese and Chinese central government level delegations on border and territory negotiations, on Dec. 31st, issued a joint declaration on the completion of border demarcation and marker planting along the entire land border between the two countries. Can you provide us with more information about this significant event?  

The special meeting between the heads of the Vietnamese and Chinese central government level delegations on border and territory negotiations took place on Dec. 28-31st, 2008 in Hanoi.

At the meeting, the two sides finalized several important issues. Particularly, the two sides agreed upon measures to demarcate their border and the planting of border markers for the Ban Gioc Waterfall and at the mouth of the Bac Luan River.

In terms of Ban Gioc Waterfall, it was agreed that the main waterfall at its highest point would belong completely to Vietnam, while the two sides come to an agreement on a borderline which followed the old landmark No.53 through Po Thoong hill to the mid of the waterfall, and then the border would follow the main flow of the Quay Son River.             

It was also agreed that at the mouth of the Bac Luan River, the borderline starts upstream of Tuc Lam to the first point of the delimitation line of the Gulf of Tonkin.

With the completion of border demarcation at the river’s mouth, Vietnam and China have finally defined the layout of their land borders, with a length of more than 1,400 km from West to East, and also succeeded in delimitation a line in the Gulf of Tonkin as well.

The border demarcation and marker planting in the two areas is completely suitable with the international law and the Treaty signed in 1999, and basically met the needs of the two sides.

The two sides agreed not to build any man-made works in the area of the Ban Gioc Waterfall to protect the natural landscape and the ecological environment in the area.

Simultaneously, the two sides also agreed to consider cooperation in exploring the tourism potential of the area, and will sign a governmental-level agreement on this issue in the near future.

The two sides also plan to establish free travel areas near the mouth of the Bac Luan River area for the boats of people who live in the border region, and to sign a governmental-level agreement on the relevant detail contents.

The two sides agreed to organize a finalization celebration ceremony on finishing the border demarcation and marker planting at the Huu Nghi Border Gate which joins Lang Son Province in Vietnam and You Yi Guan in Guangxi Province, China at an appropriate time in 2009.

At 7 pm on Dec. 31st, 2008, the two sides issued a joint declaration on the completion of border demarcation and marker planting along the entire land borderline between the two countries. Then the two sides signed an agreement that recorded all the results, as well as all relevant issues to be  implement in the near future.

“The completion of the border demarcation and marker planting process is a great historical moment in the Vietnam-China relationship,” the joint declaration affirmed.

This is a joint achievement of the forces on border demarcation and marker planting, a joint success of Vietnamese-Chinese friendship and a vivid expresses of the comprehensive strategy cooperation partner relation affirmed by the leaders of the two countries.

Could the Deputy Minister tell us about the process and the results of the border demarcation and marker planting along the border between Vietnam and China?

Pursuant to Article No.6 of the Treaty which was signed in 1999, in 2000 the two sides established a conjugate committee on border demarcation and marker planting for the land between Vietnam and China in order to finalize border demarcation and marker planting.

Then the conjugate committee on border demarcation and marker planting established a group of technical experts and 12 smaller conjugate groups on border demarcation and marker planting to carry out the actual border demarcation and marker planting in the field in 12 correlative border line sections

Border demarcation and marker planting is fresh work for most of of ministries, sectors and localities of Vietnam. After two years of preparation, in December, 2001, Vietnam and China planted the first marker at the Mong Cai International Border Gate between Quang Ninh Provine and Dong Xing in Guangxi Province.

Since October, 2002, the two sides simultaneously  carried out border demarcation and marker planting along the whole land border. However, due to initial difficulties, the two sides were only able to plant 89 markers in the first two years of 2003 and 2004.

To hasten the process, the two sides agreed to, instead, demarcate the easy areas first.

Therefore, the two years of 2005-2006 saw remarkable achievements. In early 2007, the two sides had completed almost 70% of the border line.

However, border demarcation and marker planting in 2007 was slower because the remaining areas were all sensitive areas which have been disputed for a very long time. Accordingly, groups on border demarcation and marker planting planted no markers.     

Facing this situation, Vietnam and China worked out various measures to hasten the process, in which the most importance was a measure called a “pack”.

Areas were divided up into different “packs” with common features such as “border gate pack”, “pack of old markers delimitated by France and Qing Chao” “pack of the mouth of the Bac Luan River and the Ban Gioc Waterfall”, which were then solved under certain principles and these packs interacted with the others.

The “pack” solution was carried out in the spirit of equal and mutual respect and balanced interests. The two sides made acceptable agreements and minimized the effects on the lives of the people along the border line.

After seven years of effort, the two sides carried out 13 central government level official negotiation rounds on border and territory, many meetings between the two heads, and 31 chairman-level negotiation rounds of the conjugate committee. In 2008 alone, the two sides carried out 11 chairman-level negotiation rounds. 

In total, the two sides demarcated 1,400 km worth of land borer and planted almost 2,000 markers. The marker system has been marked, recorded and described suitably with real situations objectively, scientifically and in specific detail.

In comparison with the border lines of other countries around the world, the border line between Vietnam-China is extensively mapped, and has thick, clear markers, and has been defined according to a modern method that ensures honesty and a long-lasting firm relationship between the two countries.  

Could Deputy Minister tell us what the main difficulties during the border demarcation and marker planting between Vietnam and China were?

Border demarcation and marker planting is a bilateral work, which needs to be agreed and implemented by the two sides. The terrain of the Vietnamese-Chinese border is quite mountainous and steep, and has complicated and severe weather conditions.

Several places along the border have average heights of over 1,000 meters, such as Dien Bien and Lai Chau. Of the 1,400 km of border, 344 km of it goes through rivers and streams whose flows and beds constantly change due to floods. As well, the border areas is far from people and has few roads, making access difficult.         

The task of the people who did the border demarcation and marker planting was to go to the areas where the border line goes through.

Many groups had to spend 3-4 days walking, hiking up hills, climbing down cliffs, and cutting their way through thick forests to reach the border line, regardless of the danger. Groups had to stay along the border line areas for over a month at times in severe weather conditions to finish their work.

Therefore, Vietnamese officers and soldiers shed their blood and even sacrificed their lives for the cause of border demarcation and marker planting for the nation.

Secondly, due to history, a few areas were managed both sides and cultivated and inhabited by people from both countries. And they used a common source for their drinking water.

For these areas, Vietnam and China agreed solutions which used flexible principles, minimized effects on livelihoods and the economic production of the local people.

Third, border demarcation and marker planting is the process of turning a border line on a treaty paper into reality.

This is very difficult work, because words and maps in a treaty are sometimes not suitable with the real world, and vice-verse. In the up and down condition of politics, economics, society and calamity in each country, it is understandable for difficulties to arise.

Could you tell us about significance of the completion of border demarcation and marker planting along the entire land borderline between the two countries, and what will be needed in the future?

The joint declaration issued by the two chief negotiators talks about this issue in depth. I will only added a few points:   

First, this is the first time in history that Vietnam and China have finally defined their land border by themselves with a system of documents, maps and a complete national border line marker, and one which will be  forever for the nation.

Second, the completion of the border demarcation and marker planting process will open up new opportunities for economic development in each country, especially in creating favourable conditions for their border localities to expand cooperation, economic development and friendship exchanges.

Experience shows that in areas where border demarcation and marker planting has been implemented, border security and the law and order situation, and economic and trade cooperation became better. This will be a firm premise upon which to turn a Vietnam-China border into a peace, friendship and development border line.

Third, completion of the border demarcation and marker planting process solves a sensitive issue in the Vietnam-China relationship.

After signing the Treaty of 1999, the Treaty on the Gulf of Tonkin Delimitation 2000, the border demarcation and marker planting was a practical deed needed to concretize the comprehensive strategy cooperation partner relation between Vietnam and China, and contribute to peace, stability and development of the border area.

In 2009, the two sides will continue to discuss how to complete the contents of a protocol on border demarcation and marker planting, and an appendix, including the maps and profiles that the two sides have reached in the past several years, negotiate new border management regulations and an international border management agreement.

Some foreign websites continue to publish groundless news that Vietnam has lost some of its land. What are your thoughts on this?

I have had many opportunities to speak about this issue. Today I reaffirmed that sovereign territory of is a very inviolable issue for any nation and any people.

For the Vietnamese people, sovereign territory is even more spiritual. Our nation, from time immemorial, has had to fight and sacrifice to protect its territory.

Over almost the past eight decades, our people under the leadership of the Party and Uncle Ho have gone through great hardship and sacrifice in resistance wars to keep the sovereignty of our land.         

During the negotiations with China and other neighbouring countries, as well as during the border demarcation and marker planting process in the field, we showed immutable standpoints in which territory sovereignty is a principle issue upon which we could not make concessions.

As I said above, due to history, there were a few areas cultivated and inhabited by people of both countries, so the two negotiation delegations had to agree upon a flexible solution based on balanced interests.

Therefore, there is no problem of “Vietnam losing its land” or having ” land sliced off” for other countries, as some foreign websites have said. The explanation is that these websites lack information, or are trying to publish wrong information for their own intentions.

For example, let me provide some information about the result of the border demarcation and marker planting process in the area where people are paying the most attention: the Ban Gioc Waterfall area and the Huu Nghi area.

The Ban Gioc Waterfall includes two parts: a complement and a main part.

The complement part completely belongs to Vietnam, and the main one falls into the Quay Son River, a common border river.

Pursuant to the Treaty signed in 1999, the border line will be defined under the principle of the middle of the main flow of the river.

At this meeting round, Vietnam and China agreed to define the border line which goes from the old marker No.53 through Po Thoong hill to the midpoint of the main waterfall.

Vietnam and China also agreed to cooperate to develop tourism and economic potential in the Ban Gioc Waterfall area.

In Huu Nghi, according to historical documents, Tran Nam Quan or Ai Nam Quan lies in China, and the border line lies south of Tran Nam Quan.

According to the “History of the Unification of Great Vietnam”, Tran Nam Quan was built by Ming Chao, and was then repaired by Qing Chao in 1726.

An important historical trace of the ancient Huu Nghi border gate area is Marker No.19, which was planted by France and Qing Chao in 1894. In the recent past, Vietnam and China have planted the marker No. 1117 which coincides with the old Marker No.19.

Therefore, there is an affirmable  border line in the Huu Nghi border area which was just demarcated and planted with new markers in completely harmony with history, and suitable with practically management in the area.

(Source: CPV)

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