US,Vietnam in joint call amid China tension

China stages its own three days of military exercises in the South China Sea.

The United States and Vietnam jointly called for freedom of navigation and rejected the use of force in the South China Sea,amid simmering tensions between Beijing and its neighbors.

After talks in Washington,the former war foes said that “the maintenance of peace,stability,safety and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea is in the common interests of the international community.”

“All territorial disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved through a collaborative,diplomatic process without coercion or the use of force,” the two countries said in a joint statement.

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Disputes have flared in recent weeks in the South China Sea,with Vietnam holding live-fire military exercises after accusing Chinese ships of ramming an oil survey ship and cutting the exploration cables of another one.

China staged its own three days of military exercises in the South China Sea,which state media said was aimed at boosting the country’s offshore maritime patrol force.

“The US side reiterated that troubling incidents in recent months do not foster peace and stability within the region,” the statement said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,on a July 2010 visit to Vietnam that were closely watched around Asia,said that the United States had a vital national interest in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

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China has myriad disputes in the potentially resource-rich sea with countries including Vietnam,Malaysia,Brunei and the Philippines — which said Friday that it was sending its aging naval flagship into the disputed waters.