A ceremony was held in Hanoi on May 15 to celebrate the 60 th anniversary of Vietnam’s Dien Bien Phu victory and the 69 th anniversary of the fall of the former Soviet Union’s victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Addressing the event, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi chapter of the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association (VRFA) Vu Thi Hai underlined the significance of the former Soviet Union’s victory, saying that it brought peace to many nations over the world.

She stressed that Vietnam and Russia are always side by side to overcome obstacles and difficulties to obtain great victories.

On the occasion, Hai revealed that in the face of China’s recent illegal placement of its oil rig in Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone, the VRFA, in coordination with the municipal Peace Committee, has launched a programme called “Peace for the East Sea” to collect signatures and opinions of the community on the issue.

The opinions will be translated into English, Chinese, French and Japanese and sent together with the signatures to embassies, civil and non-governmental organisations and domestic and international press agencies.

The programme aims to deliver Vietnamese people’s message of solidarity and hope for peace in the East Sea and the Southeast Asian region, as well as request China to remove its rig out of the East Sea and stop its illegal expansion in the sea immediately, Hai stressed.

As many as 10,798 signatures were gathered after just four days, she said.-VNA