China and Vietnam have agreed to set up a hotline to resolve disputes in the South China Sea, where clashes between fishermen have stoked tensions between the countries, state media reported on Thursday. The agreement was signed by agricultural authorities from Beijing and Hanoi on Wednesday, the staterun China Daily reported, amid a visit to China by Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang. “With the establishment of the fishery hotline, each side should be informed of any detainment or treatment by the other side involving fishermen or fishing boats within 48 hours,” the paper quoted Wang Ying, a senior official at China’s ministry of agriculture, as saying.

Vietnam, Beijing set up fishery hotline. (2013, June 21). The Manila Times, p. B7.