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Italian MPs speak out against China’s actions in the East Sea

During a hearing of the Italian Chamber of Deputies’ Committee of External Affairs on July 14, Italian Members of Parliament called upon the Italian Government and European states to raise their voices against China’s illegal actions in the East Sea.
During a hearing of the Italian Chamber of Deputies’ Committee ofExternal Affairs on July 14, Italian Members of Parliament called uponthe Italian Government and European states to raise their voices againstChina’s illegal actions in the East Sea.

Thisis the first time the Chamber of Deputies has organised a hearing on theEast Sea issues, to which they invited the Vietnamese Ambassador toItaly Nguyen Hoang Long.

Fabrizio Cicchitto,Chairman of the Committee of External Affairs, said the hearing was heldto clarify the security issues and sovereignty disputes in the region,with a focus on China’s violations of international law. The sessionaimed to analyse the different roles of the countries in the region,including Vietnam.

Addressing the hearing,Ambassador Long confirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over islands in the EastSea. He avowed Vietnam’s respect for the status quo in the East Sea,opposing the use of force or threats to use force.

Long said Vietnam pledged to solve disagreements through dialogues onthe principle of respecting territorial sovereignty and integrity inline with international law, especially the 1982 United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on theConduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), in order to find a long-termsolution that meets the legitimate interest of all the parties involvedand turn the East Sea into a sea of peace, cooperation and development.

Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, from the Vietnam DiplomaticAcademy’s Institute for East Sea Studies, provided the Italian MPs withan update on the current East Sea tensions, their causes and impacts,Vietnam’s reaction and possible EU contributions to peace and stabilityin the East Sea.

Italian MPs expressed theirconcern over China’s actions, which violate international laws andthreaten peace and stability in the region. They said these actionscould increase the risk of conflict considering there is currently noregional dispute settling mechanism in place.

The MPs called upon the Italian Government and other European states tospeak out against illegal action in the East Sea in order to safeguardthe observance of international laws and secure peace and stability inthe region and the world at large.-VNA
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