VietNamNet Bridge – Nearly 130,000 people have signed an online petition asking the United States to impose sanctions on China for its illegal deployment of the HD-981 drilling rig in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam.

The petition, posted on the White House website by a man in San Diego, California, calls for the U.S. to impose sanctions on China for infringement of Vietnam's territorial sovereignty.

It states: "The relation between the United States and Vietnam is on the path of goodness within partnership and peace. We, the Vietnamese around the world, call upon the White House to look up firm sanctions against China for blatantly disregarding the current international recognized laws and territorial boundaries with the recent deployment of the massive and ecologically damaging oil rig Haiyang 981 into Vietnam's water. Words and condemnation will not be enough. We need the White House to look into methods of economic sanctions against China, as this will be the only way for it to be effective."

By 10am on May 28 (Vietnamese time), the petition had been signed by nearly 130,000 people. The number of signatories is growing rapidly.

Under the provisions of the White House, to appear on its website, a petition must have at least 150 signatures. To receive a response from the White House, it must have at least 100,000 signatures by a certain deadline.

The anti-China petition needed 100,000 signatures before June 12, but has already exceeded the required number.

All internet users can sign the petition, at: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/put-sanctions-china-invading-vietnam-territory-deployment-oil-rig-haiyang-981/p2b7Rnnv.

Tran Cham