Safeguarding marine ecology is common goal between neighbors

[00:00:03]This is the vibrant [music] South China Sea. It has been home to generations of fishermen.

[00:00:10]But the marine environment has suffered from excessive exploitation, including destructive practices such as toxic, explosive, and illegal fishing.

[00:00:20]Many activities that damage the environment have political purposes. For example, a report released by China's Ministry of Natural Resources shows that the Philippine military vessel that has been illegally grounded at the Ren'ai Jiao [music] since 1999 has greatly damaged the coral reef ecosystem.

[00:00:38]Evidence shows people burn garbage on the deck, rampant fishing, and pictures of badly rusted vessel over the years.

[00:00:45]Here's a comparison of the distribution of reef building in the area, indicating that the grounded ship inhibited the growth and recovery of corals.

[00:00:54]Protecting this habitat requires joint efforts. Fish fry releases have become a regular cooperative practice between China and Vietnam.

[00:01:03]This year, 270 million juvenile fish and broodstock were released into the Beibu Gulf.

[00:01:30]It all began in 2017 when China and Vietnam signed a memorandum aimed at promoting aquatic resources conservation, scientific research, and the sustainable development of fisheries.

[00:01:42]Since then, China has released more than 770 million juvenile aquatic species into the Beibu Gulf.

[00:01:50]These waves of new life entering the waters have also created a new perspective for the two countries in managing [music] differences.

[00:01:59]The Beibu Gulf is located on the continental shelf where overlapping maritime claims between the two countries have made boundary delimitation necessary.

[00:02:09]Alongside the maritime delimitation agreement signed in 2000, China and Vietnam also reached a fisheries cooperation agreement that established a shared fishing zone.

[00:02:21]>> For Vietnam and China, obviously it's very important because we have a lot of channels of communications so that we can reduce tensions and we can reduce misunderstandings, which I think are the common issues that create a lot of tensions across the regions. Obviously, sometime we have disputes, but we need to think about the overall picture and how we can work together because as neighbors, we are there forever.

[00:02:45]>> Through dialogue mechanisms, concrete outcomes can be achieved in less sensitive [music] areas. Such cooperation can eventually help create conditions for negotiations on [music] more difficult issues.

[00:02:57]As Nguyen Hong Son, president of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, said the two sides should establish [music] a regular track two dialogue mechanism to provide intellectual support for [music] promoting maritime cooperation.

[00:03:12]China's position on resolving the South China Sea issue is to implement a dual track approach. This will be through working directly with a party concerned on the specific issue while maintaining regional peace under a multilateral framework with ASEAN.

[00:03:27]Efforts have continued over the years to protect the homeland. A report released in March by China's National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center shows that the surface seawater quality in the South China Sea meets class one standards.

[00:03:44]The successful experience in the Beibu Gulf provides an important reference for the code of conduct.

[00:03:49]>> [music] >> As relevant parties seek more substantive and practical maritime cooperation to help build a safer >> [music] >> and more prosperous South China Sea.