Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions

Vietnam and China agreed to calm tensions in their South China Sea dispute, Vietnamese state media reported on Sunday, days after Hanoi accused Beijing of a “brutal” attack on its fishermen

Vietnam and China agreed to calm tensions in their South China Sea dispute, Vietnamese state media reported on Sunday, days after Hanoi accused Beijing of a "brutal" attack on its fishermen.

China is Vietnam's biggest trade partner, but the two countries share historic tensions including in the South China Sea, a waterway through which trillions of dollars of trade pass each year.

Beijing has for years sought to expand its presence in contested areas of the sea, brushing aside an international ruling that its claim to most of the waterway has no legal basis.

Last week Hanoi protested a "brutal" attack by Chinese vessels, in which it said 10 Vietnamese fishermen were beaten with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars' worth of fish and equipment.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang "exchanged sincere and frank opinions on maritime issues" at a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnamese state media said.

"They committed to adequately controlling differences... avoiding actions that complicate the situation, and jointly maintaining stability at sea," the Bao Chinh Phu newspaper said.

The two countries also signed 10 agreements on Sunday, including on expanding cross-border railway links, payments and economic cooperation.