A US senator has said that his country attaches special importance to and wishes to further promote comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam , especially relations between the two parliaments.

Visiting Chairman of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee under the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Benjamin Cardin made the affirmation while meeting with National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung in Hanoi on May 27.

Chairman Hung described the visit as an active contribution to improving the implementation of agreements reached by the two nations in line with the spirit of their comprehensive partnership, for the interests of the two peoples as well as for peace and development in the region and the world at large.

Regarding China ’s illegal placement of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam ’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, he affirmed that this is a serious violation of Vietnam ’s sovereignty, sovereign right and jurisdiction.

It also contravened international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), he said.

The action destabilised the East Sea situation and threatened maritime and air trading in international waters, stirring deep concerns among regional countries and menacing regional and global peace and security, he added.

The top Vietnamese legislator expressed his wish that Cardin and other US senators will continue raising their voice and taking specific actions in support of Vietnam, thus fostering peace, security, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region.

For his part, Cardin stated that the US Senate strongly opposes China ’s provocative act of illegally placing its rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam ’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf and hopes that the parties concerned will actively solve the case in line with international law, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.

At the meeting, the two sides also discussed measures to boost relations between the two countries and the two parliaments in the time to come, including the establishment of an annual dialogue between the two legislatures.

On the occasion, Chairman Hung invited Cardin and other US congressmen to attend the 132 nd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly scheduled for 2015 in Hanoi.-VNA