Hanoi: India and Vietnam on Friday reiterated the importance of building a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region on the basis of respect for national sovereignty and international law as Vice President Venkaiah Naidu held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart on a range of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Naidu, who is in the Southeast Asian country for a four-day official visit, said the two countries have a strong bilateral relationship based on mutual trust, understanding, convergence of views on regional and international issues. "I am very happy to be visiting Vietnam, a civilisational friend and trusted partner, a strategic pillar of India's Act East Policy and our key interlocutor in ASEAN," Naidu said. Vice President Naidu and his Vietnamese counterpart Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh reiterated the importance of building a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region on the basis of respect for national sovereignty and international law, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

"We hope that the concerned countries are able to reach consensus on a Code of Conduct in South China Sea. "We are both fully committed to an open, transparent, inclusive and rules-based regional architecture based on freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded economic activities and peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the international law," Naidu said. His statement came a day after the Indian Navy participated with the navies of the US, the Philippines and Japan in their first joint naval exercise in the disputed South China Sea, where China is flexing its muscle. The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region, comprising the Indian Ocean and the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea. The US has conducted a series of "freedom of navigation" exercises in the disputed South China Sea, triggering protests from Beijing over what it says is infringement of sovereignty. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, while Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan are also claimants.