Despite incessantly asserting it desires peace and does not want to complicate the situation, China continues to blatantly doublespeak in attempts to change the status quo in defiance of all.

 VietNamNet Bridge – It is incumbent on Southeast Asian countries to be stronger and more self-confident in the face of a rising China.

 Chinese ships of different kinds on June 28 continued to form a row against Vietnamese law enforcement ships undertaking their normal missions in Vietnam’s waters, according to the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department.

 A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson said the country's army has established a strategic periodical patrol mechanism in the East Sea.

 Nearly 100 French scholars and professors gathered in Paris on June 25 to address the East Sea dispute and its ramifications on security in the Southeast Asian region.

 China continued to maintain its illegal presence and aggression in Vietnamese waters on June 27 as more condemnation of its actions came from US and Philippine officials.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Authorities in Quang Ninh Province have issued an edict forbidding the practices of collecting, trading and conveying plant varieties listed as rare and precious.

On March 3, 1925, the Governor General of Indochina issued a statement confirming that Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belong to Vietnam. Thus, even in the French-ruled period, Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos continued.

 Taking legal action is one of peaceful measures that is receiving support from the international community, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Despite the escalating tensions in the East Sea, China is importing large quantities of Vietnamese rice. Opinions vary about China’s motivations in making the purchases.

 China violates the international law when moving its Haiyang-Shiyou 981 oil rig in Vietnam’s waters by using force and threats in using force.

 The legal ramifications and motivation for China’s illegal placement of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in the East Sea was the topic that captured major attention of international and Vietnamese scholars.

 A Vietnam Fishing Surveillance Department ship was deliberately rammed and seriously damaged by two Chinese ships illegally operating in Vietnamese waters on June 23.

On the sidelines of the international conference on Hoang Sa (Paracel), Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands in Da Nang on June 20-21, domestic and foreign scholars expressed their concerns over China's deployment of more oil rigs in the East Sea.

 China on June 22 mobilised up to 137 ships, including five military ships, to protect its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 that is illegally standing in Vietnam’s waters, according to the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department.

 Hundreds of Vietnamese nationals, students and international friends marched along the streets of the Swiss capital Bern, on June 21, opposing China’s escalating violations in the East Sea.

China on June 21 maintained 118 ships, including six military ships, to protect its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 that is illegally standing in Vietnam’s waters, reported the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department. 

 The Mexico-Vietnam Cooperation and Friendship Institute (ICAMV) has called on China to fully commit to agreements it signed with Vietnam and international organisations, in order to settle the East Sea dispute peacefully.

 East Sea tensions were hotly debated at a recent workshop in capital Vienna where scholars shed light on the current situation and suggested solutions to the territorial dispute.

International scholars say China’s placement of HD-981 in Vietnam’s territorial waters is a step towards legalising the nine-dash line ambition in the East Sea, but warn its land reclamation in the Spratly is a serious threat to regional security.