The Thua Thien-Hue provincial chapter of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) on May 28 held a ceremony to pray for peace in the East Sea following China’s illegal positioning of its Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig in Vietnam’s waters.

On the occasion, local Buddhist monks and nuns made a petition to send to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the Standing Board of the VBS Executive Council, which strongly condemns China’s illegal acts.

The petition requested China to respect international law and the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighbouring countries including Vietnam, while expressing the support for the second communique of the 13th NA’s seventh session on the Ease Sea issue.

The same day, a similar event was also organised in Buon Ma Thuot city in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, bringing together over 1,000 local Buddhist dignitaries, nuns and monks and followers.

During the event, the VBS’s Dak Lak chapter demanded that China remove its rig from Vietnam’s waters and immediately stop its inhuman acts targeting Vietnamese fishermen who are operating in their traditional fishing ground.

It also called on the United Nations, ASEAN member nations, the World Buddhist Association, the Buddhist Association of China and the international community to continue supporting Vietnam in the issue.

Earlier, a requiem for soldiers and sailors who died to defend the country’s sovereignty over sea and islands was also held in the province.

At the beginning of May, China illegally dispatched the rig as well as a large fleet of ships and aircraft to Vietnamese waters and positioned the rig at 15 degrees 29 minutes 58 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 12 minutes 06 seconds east longitude. The location is 80 miles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

On May 27, China moved the rig to 15 degrees 33 minutes 22 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 34 minutes 36 seconds east longitude. The new location is 25 nautical miles from Tri Ton Island in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago and 23 nautical miles east-northeast from the old location, still completely within Vietnam’s continental shelf. With the move, China has kept on violating Vietnam’s sovereign right and jurisdiction.

China’s armed vessels aggressively fired high-power water cannons at, and intentionally rammed Vietnamese public-service and civil ships, causing damage to many ships and injuring many people on board.

Such acts gravely violate international law, the 1982 UNCLOS, and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), to which China itself is a signatory. These extremely dangerous acts have been directly threatening peace, stability and maritime security and safety in the East Sea.-VNA