The Vietnam Union of
UNESCO Associations issued a statement on June 4, vehemently opposing China’s
illegal placement of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou – 981 in Vietnam’s territorial
waters.
The statement said, as of
May 2 China brazenly deployed its drilling rig and a large fleet of over 130
armed vessels, military ships and aircraft in Vietnam’s continental shelf and
exclusive economic zone.
Ever since, the Chinese
ships have aggressively fired high-pressure water cannons at and intentionally
rammed into Vietnamese law enforcement and civil vessels, causing damage and
injuring many people on board
On May 26, a Chinese ship
sank a Vietnamese fishing vessel while it was carrying out its usual operations.
The UNESCO body described
China’s acts as a particularly serious violation of international law,
including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNESCO) and
the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) to which China
is a signatory.
The union condemned China
for infringing upon Vietnam’s sovereign right and jurisdiction, directly
threatening peace, stability, maritime and aviation security and safety in the
East Sea.
For this reason, it
demanded China to immediately remove its oil rig and vessels from Vietnam’s
waters and prevent similar occurrences, noting that countries need to behave in
a civilised and responsible manner on the basis of respect for international
law, territorial sovereignty and the legitimate interests of other
states.
Vietnam always sincerely
wants to settle disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international
law, equality and mutual respect for the sake of the two sides, it said,
quoting Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s statement at the 24th ASEAN Summit in Myanmar last
month.
Vietnam has so far
exercised the utmost restraint, shown goodwill and availed itself of all
dialogue channels to communicate with Chinese authorities of different levels,
to express protest and demand China immediately withdraw its rig and armed and
military vessels from Vietnam’s waters.
However, up to now, China
has failed to respond to Vietnam’s legitimate demand. On the contrary, it has
been slandering and blaming Vietnam while escalating the use of force and acts
of violation.
Source: VOV
