(VOVworld) – The President of the Mexican Senate Raul Cervantes Andrade on Monday stated that Mexico is highly appreciative of and admires Vietnam’s great achievements in the Renewal process. At a reception for outgoing ambassador Le Thanh Tung, Raul said relations between the Mexican Parliament, including the Senate, and the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) are developing well, helping to expand ties of friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries. Ambassador Tung thanked the Senate, particularly Senator Raul, for creating suitable conditions for him to fulfill his task of aiming to strengthen bilateral relations.

Tung briefed his host on the current tensions in the East Sea caused by China’s illegal deployment of oilrig Haiyang 981 in Vietnamese waters. He clarified a number of issues relating to the dispute over Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) islands in the East Sea, underscoring Vietnam’s consistent stance of resolving the standoff by peaceful solutions and in accordance with international laws. Raul stressed the need to maintain stability in the open seas and hoped that the concerned parties will quickly resolve the problem peacefully through dialogue respecting sovereignty, national independence, peace and stability in the region and the world.