China’s illegal placement of its rig in Vietnam ’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf has aroused public indignation. The Vietnam News Agency would like to introduce the opinion of Pham The Duyet, former member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam and former President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee on this issue:

“I was assigned by the Party to work in different fields, and had the opportunities to meet many senior Chinese officials. The two sides always promised to each other to bolster the development of ties between the two countries. However, over the past month and a half, China has been pushing forward with its ill intentions, causing anger among not only the Vietnamese people, but also people in the world who respect peace and justice, and those who are well versed in Vietnam-China ties.

“I have been tormented by the question of why a socialist country would do such as thing to a fraternal country and its comrade. We have sought every way to solve the issue through discussion, because no one understands more about the pain of war than we Vietnamese do. At the same time, no other people love freedom, treasure their national sovereignty and sacrifice as much to protect national sovereignty as much as the Vietnamese. Such acts by China cause anger and disapproval among the Vietnamese people.

“China even brazenly brings military ships and aircraft into Vietnam ’s waters, aggressively ramming Vietnam ’s law enforcement and civilian ships. These acts entirely run counter to the law and morality and go against the aspiration of and the friendship between the Vietnamese and Chinese people.

“It is true that China has provided great help to Vietnam , especially during our resistance wars against France and the US . We are very appreciative of the help, but what China has done recently reflects a lack of thought and respect for the law.”

The former official expressed his support for the Party and State’s guidance and the Government’s policy of persevering with negotiations and struggling by all possible peaceful means. At the same time, he affirmed that small countries are never meant to have to suffer in silence.

“Our people, young or old, are all resentful about the chauvinistic, authoritative, bullying and double-faced attitude of China towards Vietnam . Vietnam has conducted more than 30 dialogues and sent diplomatic notes to the United Nations to protest China ’s action, but China intentionally ignored all this goodwill and even slandered Vietnam . We are resolved to fight for justice for Vietnam and also for safeguarding international law, such as the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on Conduct of Parties on the East Sea (DOC), which China must respect.”

In conclusion, the former VFF leader stressed that before taking legal action, one important thing should be taken into consideration; the aspirations of the people. “For Vietnamese people, independence and national sovereignty are sacred,” he said.-VNA