What is happening in the East Sea is critically serious and Vietnam resolutely demands China to withdraw oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 and more than 100 ships from Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf to create an environment for negotiations.

Ambassador Le Hoai Trung

Ambassador Le Hoai Trung, head of Vietnam’s permanent representative mission to the United Nations, was responding to foreign reporters’ questions in New York on June 10 following China’s illegal placement of its floating oil rig deep inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

Vietnam sent a note to the UN Secretary General, protesting China’s violation of Vietnamese sovereignty. China later also sent a note to the UN Secretary General, asking for circulation of its documents that make an unfounded accusation of Vietnam and fabricate the truth in the East Sea.

Ambassador Trung said Beijing has so far refused to sit at the negotiating table, and insists that the waters surrounding the oil rig are an inherent part of Chinese territory and that there is no dispute in the area.

China’s refusal to negotiate the dispute is provocative and causes serious concerns, he told reporters.

Asked about China’s accusations that Vietnamese boats intentionally disrupted the rig’s operations and rammed into Chinese ships, ambassador Trung affirmed the area where China placed its drilling rig is completely inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

Vietnam has only dispatched civil boats to carry out law enforcement tasks; by contrast, China has even deployed warships to the area.

Vietnam has invited foreign reporters, including Chinese ones, to make field trips to witness the happenings at sea.

The facts speak for themselves. A number of pictures published by Vietnamese and international reporters show that Chinese ships aggressively fired water cannons at or intentionally sank Vietnamese boats.

Trung once again affirmed that Vietnam has sufficient historical and legal evidence to assert its sovereignty over the area where Haiyang Shiyou-981 is illegally located.

Vietnam was not the first to commit the provocative act in the current dispute, he said, adding that Vietnam wants to settle the issue peacefully through dialogue and negotiations.  

According to the ambassador, Vietnam has exercised restraint in the dispute.