Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has said that Vietnam is checking information that China is building a fake island and military base on Gac Ma Reef (Johnson South Reef) in the center of the East Sea.

China is trying to create “a fait accompli" to rationalise its presence in the areas it uses force to occupy the East Sea.

The Senior Officials’ Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (SOM ARF) opened on June 9 in Yangon, Myanmar, giving much space for the East Sea issue.

Major TV stations in Japan, such as NHK, TBS and Fuji, frontpaged their news bulletin on June 6 with a video showing a Chinese vessel sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat on May 26 in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago.

Vietnam hopes that the US will have a stronger voice and take more practical actions to contribute to peace, stability, security, and maritime safety in the region, and to settling regional disputes in line with international law.