Swaraj holds 7 bilateral meetings on sidelines of ASEAN summit

In the meeting between Swaraj and her Vietnamese counterpart, they discussed about the South China Sea issue

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today held separate meetings here with her counterparts from seven countries including China, Australia, Canada, Vietnam and Indonesia and discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues, including disputes in the South China Sea.

In the meeting between Swaraj and her Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh, both leaders discussed about the South China Sea issue besides ways to further enhance bilateral cooperation in areas such as energy security and trade.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said both sides were working towards a "high-level VVIP visit" from India to Vietnam later this year and Swaraj will go to that country later this month to pave way for the "important" visit.

When asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be going to Vietnam, he refused to share details.

Akbaruddin said Foreign Ministers of the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, Canada and China have shared their views on the issue of South China Sea during the meetings with Swaraj on the sidelines of 47th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in here.

Fresh standoff started recently when China deployed a deep sea oil rig into waters close to the Paracel Islands, which, Vietnam, says belong to it.

India's ONGC Videsh (OVL) has operations in oil blocks in hydrocarbon-rich South China Sea. China has been objecting to India's oil exploration projects in the disputed waters.

"India is not a party to the dispute in the South China Sea. We feel that the dispute should be resolved between those who are party to it in a peaceful manner and it should be in accordance with international law," the MEA spokesperson said when asked about India's position on the issue.

"We have interest in ensuring that there is free rights of navigation and access to natural resources," he said.

In the meeting between Swaraj and her Australian counterpart Julie Bishop, both sides decided to expedite negotiations on the civil nuclear deal so that it can be concluded "at the earliest".

They also discussed various other issues.