Vietnam said on Friday it was ready to talk to the Philippines to seek measures that are in line with the interests of both countries after Manila filed a UN claim over an extended continental shelf in the South China Sea last week, quoted by News.bg.
"Vietnam reaffirms its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos in accordance with international law," Foreign Ministry spokesman Pham Thu Hang said in a statement, referring to the Paracel and Spratly islands.
Vietnam and the Philippines are among the countries disputing parts of the South China Sea, a busy global maritime waterway, almost all of which is claimed by China.
Last week, the Philippines filed a claim at the United Nations for an extended continental shelf in the South China Sea, which handles $3 trillion in annual trade and is believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits as well as fish stocks.
"Coastal states, when delineating their outer limits of the continental shelf, should respect the legitimate rights and interests of other relevant coastal states with opposite or adjacent coastlines," Hang said in the statement.