Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh has reiterated Vietnam’spolicy of protecting national sovereignty by peaceful measures withrespect to international law, in order to maintain peace, stability,security and safety of navigation in the East Sea.
Minister Thanhbriefed participants at the eight ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting(ADMM-8) in Myanmar on May 20 amidst their concerns over China’s illegalplacement of a drilling rig in the exclusive economic zone andcontinental shelf of Vietnam. The act threatens peace, stability,security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the EastSea.
Vietnam is determined to keep political stability inthe country and maintain the friendship and comprehensive cooperationwith China, he affirmed.
Vietnam has requested dialoguewith the Chinese side at different levels, including throughpeople-to-people diplomatic channels, with the desire of both sides toexercise restraint to avoid military conflicts at sea, he added.
Hestated that the country does not use aircraft, missile-mounted ships orfrogmen to attack and destroy the Chinese rig, adding that Vietnameselaw enforcement ships, including coast guard and fisheries surveillanceones, and fishing boats do not ram or fire water cannons on Chinesevessels to force them to withdraw.
Informing aboutsome protests taking place in Vietnam in response to China ’sviolation of the country’s sovereignty, General Thanh said that someextremists made use of the events to commit crimes such as destroyingthe property of foreign invested firms, which went beyond the wishes ofboth Vietnam and China , as well as other countries.
He underscored that Vietnam will strictly punish the violators inaccordance with the country’s law, not allowing the incident to affectits investment environment as well as the friendship between the peopleof Vietnam and China.
“The Vietnamese Government istaking measures to ensure security and absolute safety for foreigncitizens and enterprises in the country,” he stated, adding that theaffected firms have resumed their normal operations.
“We hope that foreign friends will share the difficulties with Vietnamand encourage their businesses to have peace of mind while working andinvesting in Vietnam,” he said.
Regarding thetension in the East Sea, participants at the event agreed to raisethe issue at the informal meeting between ASEAN Defence Ministers andthe Chinese Defence Minister on the sidelines of the ADMM-8.
Concluding the event, the defence leaders passed a joint statement on the cooperation for community and prosperity.
They voiced support to the outcomes of the 24 th ASEAN Summit and theNay Pyi Taw Declaration, which call on cooperation in ensuring the fulland effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct ofParties in the East Sea (DOC) and the United Nations Convention onthe Law of the Sea.
They also called on parties topractice self-restraint without using force or conducting activitiesthat may intensify tensions, while highlighting the need to form a Codeof Conduct in the East Sea (COC) at an early date.
The ministers reiterated the group’s commitment to reinforcing defencecooperation towards the establishment of the ASEAN Community by 2015.
They suggested measures to build trust, includingforming more hotlines and collecting commitments not to using forcesamong ASEAN countries.
Participants were briefed of the group’s all-round development by General Secretary Le Luong Minh.
Accordingto Minh, the seventh ASEAN-China senior officials’ meeting on theimplementation of the DOC in Pattaya , Thailand , in April this yearstressed the need to fully implement the DOC.
Both sides affirmed the need of early finalising the COC.
Atthe 24th ASEAN Summit in Myanmar, ASEAN leaders once again stated theimportance of maintaining peace and stability, security, safety andfreedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea .
Theyexpressed deep concerns over incidents escalating tensions in the EastSea while emphasing the need the form the COC soon.
On the sidelines of the event, the Vietnamese Minister had bilateralmeetings with the Defence Ministers of China, Singapore, thePhilippines, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Minister of Energy of Brunei.-VNA