HANOI, Jan 5: Vietnam's prime minister has given the go-ahead for joint oil exploration between Chinese and Vietnamese state oil companies in the Gulf of Tonkin, state media reported on Friday.

The China National Offshore Oil Corporation and the Vietnam Petroleum Corporation (PetroVietnam) agreed on the project in mid-November, said the Vietnam News Agency without providing further details.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told PetroVietnam to work with government ministries to ensure the project is in line with Vietnam's laws and delivers economic benefits to the country, said the brief report. Known and suspected energy reserves in the South China Sea have long fuelled historic disputes that have centred on the Spratly and Paracel islands, between China, Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.—AFP