Hundreds of Vietnamese people living in Washington D.C and surrounding areas on May 18 gathered in front of the Chinese Embassy to protest China’s illegal placement of the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

David Huy Ho, President of the Vietnamese Entrepreneurs’ Association in the US and head of the organising board, told Vietnam News Agency’s correspondents that in addition to the demonstration, the Vietnamese Entrepreneurs’ Association also set up a website in English language spread the word about the illegality of China’s nine-dotted line in the East Sea.

The association also plans to collect 100,000 signatures to send to the US Congress to oppose the line, he stated.

The same day, nearly 100 overseas Vietnamese and foreigners from New York and Boston (Massachusetts State) attended a meeting in front of the Chinese representative mission in New York to raise their voices against China’s aggressive acts in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

Merle Ratner, a social activist for peace in the US, said China’s positioning of the drilling rig in Vietnam’s waters violates international law and threatens peace and stability in the region.

She affirmed her backing for Vietnam as Vietnam is a peace-loving nation, which always commits to solving disputes by peaceful means.

Vietnamese students in the country also sent their letters to President Barrack Obama and the US Senate to call on the US government and international community to voice objection to China’s actions in Vietnam’s waters.-VNA