A Vietnamese diplomat has strongly denounced China’s illegal
placement of Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone and its
intensified intimidation against Vietnamese law enforcement forces at sea.
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>> Harvard scholars: Vietnam should sue China in court
>> U.S. Senate protests China’s provocative act in Vietnam’s waters
>> China’s East Sea ambition in a Russian scholar’s eye
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| Chinese ship fired high-power water cannons at Vietnamese law enforcement vessel |
Ambassador Le Hoai Trung,
Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), was
expressing his view at a meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General for Political
Affairs Jeffrey Feltman in New York on June 2.
He said Chinese ships that are deployed to protect the rig
deliberately stalked and, utilizing high-power water cannons, violently attacked
Vietnamese law enforcement vessels and fishing boats, leaving untold damages in
life and property.
Trung also asserted that China’s aggressive and barbarous
acts are an egregious violation of international law, the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on
the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and threaten safety, security and
freedom of navigation in the East Sea.
He proffered Under-Secretary Jeffrey’s legal and historical
proof, which clearly and unequivocally demonstrates Vietnam’s sovereignty over
the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago.
Vietnam is ardently committed to a policy of settling
disputes through peaceful measures in compliance with international law, he
said, adding that the country is also mindful of salvaging friendship ties with
China.
Therefore, Vietnam is exercising self-restraint and is
intent on resolving the conflict at the negotiating table. It stands ready to
sit down with China at all levels and utilize whatever methods are necessary to
ensure a settlement is reached.
At this point Vietnam asks China to remove the drilling oil
rig and escort ships out of Vietnam’s waters and come to the negotiating table
to handle differences, he said.
Trung urged the UN and the international community to
support Vietnam’s goodwill, and called on China not to undertake any more unilateral
acts escalating tensions in the region.
Under-Secretary Jeffrey’s thanked the Vietnamese delegation
for the update and voiced his high admiration for Vietnam’s policy to settle
disputes through peaceful measures in accordance with international law.
He said that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is following
with keen interest the current situation in the East Sea.
The East Sea dispute is of great importance to the
international community, he said, expressing his concerns about the rising
global tension it has created. He called on all parties concerned to
self-restrain and resolve disputes through dialogue and other peaceful
solutions in line with the UN Charter and international law.
Source: VOV
