Vietnam not alone in East Sea issue: Russian experts
Moscow (VNA) –
Russian researchers studying the East Sea issues have opposed Chinese coast guard
ship’s hitting
and sinking of Vietnamese
fishing vessel QNg 90617 TS in the waters of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, saying
that that the international
community will support
Vietnam.
Talking with Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondents in Russia, Chairman of the Expert Council of the
Eurasian Foundation for Support of Scientific Research Grigory Trofimchuk said
such inappropriate acts of Chinese vessels have been condemned by the public, but China has still deliberately ignored.
He said China should exercise self-restraint and avoid similar acts, and stay calm to properly settle existing
issues through peaceful measures.
According to the expert, the incident occurred amid rising uncertainties across
the world, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which could worsen
the East Sea issue.
He noted that as the number of similar incidents is increasing steadily, researchers
will pay attention to and condemn them at international seminars and forums on
the East Sea issue.
In every circumstance,
Vietnam is not alone in the East Sea issue, he stressed, expressing his belief that the international community will raise their voice to
support Vietnam.
Trofimchuk
suggested that
Vietnam should take full advantage
of its international
tools, including its non-permanent
membership of the United
Nations Security Council, as well as cooperation mechanisms within
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), especially when the country
holds the bloc’s chairmanship this year.
Sharing the same opinion with Trofimchuk, Prof. Vladimur Kolotov from the Saint
Petersburg State University said
China is making corrupt use of the time when many countries worldwide, including Russia and
the US, are pooling resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, to increase its influence in the East Sea.
He recommended regional countries to stay alert against a new wave of escalating tensions in the East Sea, amid the complicated
developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world.
Earlier, while answering
to reporters’ queries about the incident, spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Foreign
Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang said on April 3 that Vietnam has sufficient legal
grounds and historical evidence affirming its sovereignty over Hoang Sa
(Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos in accordance with
international law.
Such an act by the China coast guard ship violates Vietnam’s sovereignty
over the Paracel islands, causing damage, threatening the safety of life and
the legitimate interests of Vietnamese fishermen.
It also went against the common perception of senior leaders of
the two countries on the humane treatment of fishermen and the Vietnam-China agreement
on the basic principles guiding the settlement of maritime issues, and in
contrary to the spirit of the Declaration of Conduct of the Parties in the East
Sea (DOC), which complicates the situation and is not conducive to the
bilateral relations as well as the maintenance of peace, stability and
cooperation in the East Sea, she said./.