HANOI - Vietnam said yesterday it had failed to reach agreement during three days of talks in Beijing over competing claims to an offshore area where China positioned an oil rig last month.
A Foreign Ministry statement echoed Chinese comments made earlier that the two countries had gained some understanding of each other's positions, but said pointedly that the search for common ground had not borne fruit.
The row erupted in March after China's National Offshore Oil Corp positioned its Kan Tan III oil rig and accompanying vessels in disputed waters between Hainan Island and the coast of central Vietnam.