National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and the NA deputies of central Ha Tinh province on July 2 met with voters in Huong Khe, a mountainous district leading the new rural building movement in the province.

Local voters expressed their high unanimity with many guidelines and policies on socio-economic development and security-defence which were adopted by the NA during its seventh session.

They expressed their anger at China’s illegal placement of the oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone as well as its maintenance of a large number of escort ships to hinder Vietnamese law enforcement forces’ sovereignty protection activities.

They also proposed measures to enhance economic and defence strengths for the country’s sea and islands, and firmly safeguard national sea sovereignty.

NA Chairman Hung pointed to difficulties facing the country over the past time, including unstable economic development, high poverty rate, and limited defence-security strength.

China’s illegal rig placement in Vietnamese waters has caused numerous difficulties for the country in carrying out its socio-economic development plans while stirring anger among the people, he said.

This situation requires each voter and each person to make greater efforts and maintain their solidarity, proactiveness and creativeness in order to overcome all difficulties for the cause of national construction and defence, he added.

“We always aspire for peacefully development and Vietnam-China friendship but the Vietnamese nation never yields to any threat and violation of its national independence and sovereignty,” he stressed.

The same day, the NA Chairman and deputies visited Ngan Truoi-Cam Trang irrigation system in Vu Quang district, an important work for the province’s socio-economic development.

Under construction since June 2009, the 9 trillion VND (428.5 million USD) project includes a 750 million cu.m reservoir, the third largest of its kind in the country, and a 16 MW hydropower plant. It provides water for Thach Khe iron mine and 32,500 ha of agricultural land in eight districts.-VNA