Ambassador to Chile Ha Thi Ngoc Ha on June 11 informed Chileancongressmen of the latest developments in the East Sea, several weeksafter China illegally towed its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou – 981 toVietnam’s waters.
For over a month, Vietnam has exhausted alldialogue channels with China, asking it to stop violating Vietnam’ssovereign right and jurisdiction by withdrawing the rig and ships fromthe area right away, Ha said.
Turning a blind eye to Vietnam’severy gesture of goodwill, China has continued its illegal acts andlaunched false accusations and distortions, laying blame on Vietnam.
Worse still, China has escalated the situation by deploying morevessels of various kinds, sometimes up to 140, with many threatening,ramming, sinking and damaging Vietnamese ships, leaving many of theircoast guards, fisheries surveillance staff and fishermen aboard injured.
Ha took the occasion to present a letter of Chairman of theNational Assembly’s Committee for External Relations, Tran Van Hang, toPresident of the Chamber of Duties of Chile, Aldo Cornejo Gonzalez, inwhich China’s acts in the East Sea is brought to light.
Thecongressmen called on parties concerned to exercise restraint, keep thedispute from bursting into an armed conflict, and respect theircommitments defined in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law ofthe Sea (UNCLOS).
In her letter sent to the Vietnam Union ofFriendship Organisations (VUFO), Chairwoman of the Chile – VietnamCultural Institute Patricia Abarzua Munoz said China’s oil drillingoperation has caused havoc on regional stability and peace and globaltrade in the East Sea.
She said the institute will join withthe Vietnamese Government and people to urge China to respect the UNCLOSterms, and pull its rig out of the area without delay.
TheVietnamese embassy also sent English-language materials concerning theserious incident to the Chilean Foreign Ministry, parliament, politicalparties and international organisations based in Santiago, including thefull interview that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recently granted toBloomberg and a press release by Vice Chairman of the National BoundaryCommission Tran Duy Hai.
At a gathering on June 15, Argentineanartists and scholars, who are members of the Argentina – VietnamCulture Institute (ICAV) were unanimous that only peaceful means thatcan address the dispute.
Earlier, ICAV Chairman Poldi SosaSchmidt also sent a note to VUFO President Vu Xuan Hong, saying thathopefully the dispute will be settled by peaceful and diplomatic meansin a spirit of mutual respect.
Since early May, China hasillegally operated the rig and a large fleet of armed vessels, militaryships and aircraft in Vietnam’s waters.
Despite Vietnam’s protests, China has expanded its scale of operationand moved the rig to 15 degrees 33 minutes 36 seconds north latitude and111 degrees 34 minutes 11 seconds east longitude, which is 60 nauticalmiles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economiczone.
As of June 16, as many as 38 Chinesefishing vessels and a Chinese coast guard ship coded 46102 made a lineto block and violently harass Vietnamese fishing boats that wereoperating as usual in Vietnam’s waters.-VNA
For over a month, Vietnam has exhausted alldialogue channels with China, asking it to stop violating Vietnam’ssovereign right and jurisdiction by withdrawing the rig and ships fromthe area right away, Ha said.
Turning a blind eye to Vietnam’severy gesture of goodwill, China has continued its illegal acts andlaunched false accusations and distortions, laying blame on Vietnam.
Worse still, China has escalated the situation by deploying morevessels of various kinds, sometimes up to 140, with many threatening,ramming, sinking and damaging Vietnamese ships, leaving many of theircoast guards, fisheries surveillance staff and fishermen aboard injured.
Ha took the occasion to present a letter of Chairman of theNational Assembly’s Committee for External Relations, Tran Van Hang, toPresident of the Chamber of Duties of Chile, Aldo Cornejo Gonzalez, inwhich China’s acts in the East Sea is brought to light.
Thecongressmen called on parties concerned to exercise restraint, keep thedispute from bursting into an armed conflict, and respect theircommitments defined in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law ofthe Sea (UNCLOS).
In her letter sent to the Vietnam Union ofFriendship Organisations (VUFO), Chairwoman of the Chile – VietnamCultural Institute Patricia Abarzua Munoz said China’s oil drillingoperation has caused havoc on regional stability and peace and globaltrade in the East Sea.
She said the institute will join withthe Vietnamese Government and people to urge China to respect the UNCLOSterms, and pull its rig out of the area without delay.
TheVietnamese embassy also sent English-language materials concerning theserious incident to the Chilean Foreign Ministry, parliament, politicalparties and international organisations based in Santiago, including thefull interview that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recently granted toBloomberg and a press release by Vice Chairman of the National BoundaryCommission Tran Duy Hai.
At a gathering on June 15, Argentineanartists and scholars, who are members of the Argentina – VietnamCulture Institute (ICAV) were unanimous that only peaceful means thatcan address the dispute.
Earlier, ICAV Chairman Poldi SosaSchmidt also sent a note to VUFO President Vu Xuan Hong, saying thathopefully the dispute will be settled by peaceful and diplomatic meansin a spirit of mutual respect.
Since early May, China hasillegally operated the rig and a large fleet of armed vessels, militaryships and aircraft in Vietnam’s waters.
Despite Vietnam’s protests, China has expanded its scale of operationand moved the rig to 15 degrees 33 minutes 36 seconds north latitude and111 degrees 34 minutes 11 seconds east longitude, which is 60 nauticalmiles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economiczone.
As of June 16, as many as 38 Chinesefishing vessels and a Chinese coast guard ship coded 46102 made a lineto block and violently harass Vietnamese fishing boats that wereoperating as usual in Vietnam’s waters.-VNA
