John Ashe, President of the
current UN General Assembly session, has raised the international community’s
concern about recent East Sea tensions and supported Vietnam’s stance towards
settling the dispute by peaceful means in line with the UN Charter and international
law.
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China's oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 is illegally positioned
in Vietnam's exclusive continental shelf
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Receiving ambassador Le
Hoai Trung head of the Vietnamese mission to the UN, in New York on June 10,
Ashe called on parties concerned not to carry out unilateral acts to escalate
tensions in the region.
He said his office has
followed the situation with keen interest and it is willing to lend a helping
hand to the parties in addressing the issue.
Ambassador Trung said since
China stationed its drilling rig Haiyang Shiyou-981, it has deployed many
boats, including warships, and aircraft to prevent the operation of Vietnamese
law enforcement agencies in the area.
China's oil rig Haiyang
Shiyou-981 is illegally positioned in Vietnam's exclusive continental shelf
He said Chinese vessels
provocatively attacked and fired water cannons at Vietnamese law enforcement
and fishing boats, injuring a number of sailors and seriously damaging their
property. Most recently, they even sank a Vietnamese boat which was fishing in
its traditional fishing ground.
Trung said Vietnam strongly
protests against Chinese violation of Vietnamese sovereignty and asks it to
withdraw the drilling rig, escort ship and aircraft from Vietnam’s waters.
Vietnam has exercised
maximum restraint and made every effort to resolve the issue through dialogue
and other peaceful means in line with international law and the 1982 UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
In defiance of Vietnam’s
goodwill, China has increased provocative acts to complicate the situation in
the East Sea.
The ambassador said Vietnam
has sufficient historical evidence and legal foundations to assert its
sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago. He even refuted China’s
incorrect and groundless arguments, including a Chinese Foreign Ministry
statement on June 8.
He proposed that the UN and
the international community continue supporting Vietnam’s goodwill and
legitimate requests.
Source: VNN
