In the press release issued after its second working day, the NA – the most powerful agency of Vietnam –affirmed that China’s deployment of its drilling platform in the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone of Vietnam is a serious violation of the sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of Vietnam, and a breach of international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and contrary to the high-level agreements between the two parties and the two States of Vietnam and China.

The press release says that the NA and all Vietnamese people at home and abroad express their worries and resolutely oppose the violations and wrongful acts of China. The NA asked China to move its drilling rig out of Vietnam’s waters.

The NA also expressed its gratitude to international individuals and organizations for their support of Vietnam.

The NA trusts and agrees with the policy of the Party and the State to defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity on the basis of international law and at the same time persistently pursue the traditional friendship between the two peoples of Vietnam and China.

The NA asked the government and the people to unite and to keep political stability, security and order to create a favorable environment for socio-economic development.

The statement was issued after the second working day of the 7th NA session, which opened on May 20 and will last until June 24.

In the past 20 days, China’s illegal drilling platform in the exclusive economic zone of Vietnam has stirred up public opinion. Many demonstrations and marches have taken place in Vietnam and in many countries throughout the world.

The Vietnamese government has requested, on 20 occasions, that China withdraw its rig, ships and aircraft from Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone.

Vietnam also denounced China’s violations of international law to the 24th ASEAN Summit in Myanmar on May 11. For the first time in 20 years, ASEAN issued a separate statement on the East Sea. Diplomats and scholars of many countries like the US, Japan, the EU, and Australia have also expressed their concern and condemned the actions of China.

Tran Cham