Many Italian scholars have slammed China’s recent moving of an oil rig into Vietnam’s waters, stating that Beijing is deliberately escalating tension that will threaten peace, security, stability and maritime safety in the region.

They expressed their disapproval at a workshop in Rome on May 7 Vietnamese after Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long made an account of what has just happened in the East Sea.

Some voiced that as a member of the G7 group linking seven industrialised nations, Italy should take a certain role in easing the tension in the East Sea, along with the international community.

Almost agreed that the European nation should further exert its positive influence in the world political life and the Asia-Pacific in particular, from economics, culture to trade.

They believe that with a wealth of negotiation experience, Italy is fully able to act as a mediator for disputes, including the East Sea issue.-VNA