Deputy Prime Minister Pham
Binh Minh has requested China to withdraw its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 and
escort vessels from Vietnam’s territorial waters.
 |
| Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh (R) and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi. |
Deputy Prime Minister cum
Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi met at
the meeting of the two chairs of the Vietnam-China Steering Committee for
Bilateral Cooperation in Hanoi on June 18.
At the meeting, Deputy PM
Binh Minh affirmed that the Vietnamese Party, State, Government and people
always attach importance to preserving and further developing the
neighbourliness, friendship and comprehensive cooperation with China.
Over the past years, the
comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and China has grown far and
wide thanks to both countries’combined efforts.
However, China’s illegal
placement of the oil drilling Haiyang Shiyou-981 inside Vietnam’s exclusive
economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf has violated international law and
the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), threatening
security, maritime safety and peace and stability in the region, hurting the
fleeing of the Vietnamese people and negatively impacting cooperative relations
between the two nations.
Deputy PM vehemently
asserted Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago,
sovereign rights and jurisdiction over EEZ and continental shelf in accordance
with the 1982 UNCLOS to which both countries are members.
Deputy PM Minh demanded
China pull its oil rig and escort vessels out of Vietnam’s waters, control the
situation to avoid conflicts and resolve the current tensions as well as other
disagreements on the basis of respect for international law and the UNCLOS.
Chinese State Councilor
Yang Jiechi, in turn, reiterated the Chinese Party, Government and people’s
recognition of high importance to developing friendly relations with Vietnam.
He agreed that both sides
need to stabilize the situation at sea, refrain from causing conflicts and
worsening bilateral relations, and join efforts to boost bilateral cooperation
in an extensive and practical manner.
They consented to maintain
mechanisms for exchange and cooperation between ministries, sectors,
effectively implement an action plan on Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic
partnership and hold the 7th meeting of
the Vietnam-China Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation.
Yang Jiechi was later
received by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on the same day.
 |
| Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong (R) meets with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi. |
Trong said that Vietnam
wants to boost its friendship and cooperation with China in the two people’s
long-term interests and hailed positive developments in bilateral relations in
recent years.
The Party leader stressed
the seriousness and negative impacts of China’s deployment of drilling platform
Haiyang-Shiyou 981 in Vietnam’s waters in early May on bilateral ties and the
regional situation.
“Vietnam’s policy on its
sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes
and other East Sea issue remains unchanged and unchangeable.” Trong emphasized.
He called for early
measures to stabilize the situation as the precondition for future long-term
solutions for marine issues based on agreements reached by senior leaders and
international law, in particular the 1982 UNCLOS.
He said that the Chinese
Party and Government respect and desire to develop a long-term and stable
relationship with Vietnam, adding that both countries should continue
negotiations to ease tension, deal with sea-related issues, and maintain
exchange and cooperation to maintain stable bilateral relations.
Source:
VOV
