The U.S. Senate objects to China’s
illegal deployment of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnam’s exclusive
economic zone and continental shelf in the East Vietnam Sea, U.S. Senator
Benjamin Cardin said Tuesday during his visit to Vietnam.
The U.S.
senator made the statement during yesterday’s reception hosted by Vietnamese
National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung in Hanoi for the U.S. delegation of
senators on their visit to the Southeast Asian country.
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Benjamin Cardin, head of U.S. Senate Foreign
Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, is seen at a press
conference in Hanoi on May 28, 2014.
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Benjamin
Cardin, who is head of U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian
and Pacific Affairs, said the East Vietnam Sea-related issues should be settled
in accordance with international law, for regional peace, stability, and
development.
The senator
emphasized that the U.S. attaches significance to its relations with Vietnam
and wishes to further boost the comprehensive cooperation between the two
countries in general and the two legislative bodies in particular.
Meanwhile, NA
Chairman Hung told his guest that Vietnam highly values its relations with the
U.S. and applauds U.S. policies of long-term commitment and promoting
cooperation with the region for the sake of peace, stability, and development.
The
Vietnamese NA leader proposed that the U.S. continue opening markets for
Vietnamese goods, reduce trade barriers, support Vietnam in the TPP
negotiations, and recognize Vietnam’s market economy soon.
Host and
guest agreed to strengthen exchanges of high-level visits between Vietnam and
the U.S., especially in 2015, when the two countries celebrate their 20th
anniversary of normalization of diplomatic relations.
The visit by
the U.S. delegation of senators took place in the context that China has
maintained its illicit oil rig in Vietnam’s waters since May 1 despite the
strong protest from Vietnam, which has repeatedly demanded that China remove
the rig from the Vietnamese waters immediately.
On Tuesday, China moved its oil rig 23 nautical miles east in the East Vietnam Sea, but the
platform’s new location is still within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and
continental shelf, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Source: tuoitrenews
