(AFP)
HANOI - China has freed nine Vietnamese fishermen held for the past month after they were caught in disputed South China Sea waters, Vietnam's Minister of Defence Phung Quang Thanh said Tuesday.
Thanh said the release came "unconditionally" and was an expression of China's goodwill.
"We appreciated it," Thanh told reporters on the sidelines of inaugural talks by regional defence ministers, where the South China Sea was a key issue.
Vietnam last week called for release of the fishing boat and its crew that were captured while fishing in the Paracels, a South China Sea archipelago occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam.
Vietnam and China are engaged in a long-running dispute over control of the Paracels and a more southerly archipelago, the Spratlys.
Since last year Vietnam has reported numerous cases of fishing boats and equipment being seized by China.
Taiwan also claims the Paracels and has a claim to the Spratlys, as do ASEAN members the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
Territorial disputes in Asia-Pacific waters pose a threat to regional stability, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates warned Tuesday at the regional talks, but his Chinese counterpart insisted Beijing's growing military might is purely defensive.
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