VietNamNet Bridge – The international community has continued to raise its voice, to protest against China's illegal deployment of an oil rig in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said at his daily news briefing on May 14 that the tension caused by China’s acts needed to be resolved through dialogue, not intimidation. He said the US was not a party to the dispute but President Barack Obama, in his recent Asia tour, repeatedly stressed the need for peaceful dialogue on various disputes involving the East Sea.

France’s Foreign Ministry also voiced concern over confrontation and tensions in the East Sea after China illegally positioned its oil rig – Haiyang Shiyou 981– - in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam. Paris called on parties to exercise restraint and settle disputes through peaceful measures and dialogue, the French Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a May 14 press conference in Paris.

Belgian journalist Mass Mboup, an expert on politics and development of the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) said that the East Sea issue was complicated and was mentioned at the 24th ASEAN Summit. He said China's encroachment on the East Sea was not supported by the international community and both the U.S and EU raised their voices to oppose the act.

All countries in the region should unite to stop China's act as the infringement on other countries' territorial waters belies international law and that will become very dangerous in the international aspect, he noted. The journalist emphasised that China should talk with ASEAN countries to negotiate for a peaceful solution and avoid armed conflict.

In Australia, Malcolm Cook and Elliot Brennan, two experts on Southeast Asia security, said that China's placement of an oil rig in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone in the East Sea was worrisome, unfriendly and disappointing. Malcolm Cook said that the act was the latest evidence of China's approach to disregarding signed agreements or participating in constructive dialogues to resolve the dispute. In the meantime, Vietnam had not engaged in provocative acts. Elliot Brennan said that Vietnam and China should show restraint and negotiate to avoid conflict while devising mechanisms to control conflict.

The same day, Italy’s leading geopolitical magazine Limes ran an article about the ongoing tension in the East Sea, stating that China has deployed an oil rig near Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago in Vietnam's EEZ. The article affirmed that Beijing was escalating its claims and adopting a diplomatic policy of intimidation and China was setting a dangerous precedent.

In German, Doctor Gerhard Will, an expert on South East Asia at Germany's Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) said that China had political motives for the deployment of its oil rig near Vietnam's coast. According to him, the act constituted a serious setback in the efforts to diminish disputes in the East Sea, as well as the implementation of the DOC signed by China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

On May 15, the Vietnamese community in Thailand released a statement condemning China’s act and asked China to immediately remove its oil rig and escort vessels and aircrafts from Vietnamese waters.

The executive board of the Vietnamese Association in the UK expressed their support to the Vietnamese Government in defending the country’s sovereignty and rebuked China for violating Vietnam’s waters at a meeting on May 14. The association planned to launch a campaign to call for support to those suffering from China’s provocative actions.

Vietnamese people in Malaysia and Bulgaria also issued declarations strongly opposing China's act and requesting China withdraw its oil rig and escort ships. They supported the Vietnamese Government’s application of necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the nation.

Source: Nhan Dan