Responding to China’s illegal placement of Haiyang Shiyou 981oil rig in Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the East Sea, the international community has continued to protest against the infringement.

Many Chinese ships are protecting their illegal rig in Vietnam's EZZ in the East Sea.

According to Vietnam News Agency (VNA), former French military attaché in Vietnam and China Daniel Schaefffer said that the act was beyond China’s authority and a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty. He described this as a new step in China’s so-called “nine-dash line” scheme to take over the East Sea, a scheme China had earlier unilaterally declared.

The same day, a specialist from the Russian Council of Foreign Affairs, Anton Svetov said that the illegal oil rig placement was a carefully hatched plan, considering the size of the fleet placed in the area, especially when compared with similar acts in the past.

Vladimir Kolotov, Director of the Far East History Department from the Saint Petersburg State University made it clear that China’s aggression at Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos was triggering tension and undermining trust in the region.

Meanwhile, a senior scholar from the Russian Institute of Oriental Studies Dmitry Mosyakov raised concerns that China was damaging efforts to foster its friendship with Vietnam and other countries.

According to a VNA reporter in London, Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire stated in a declaration from the UK Foreign Ministry that China’s installation of the oil rig had escalated tensions in the East Sea.

The UK has supported the EU’s May 8 statement and has raised the issue with the Chinese Government at ministerial level, appealling to all sides for restraint to seek measures to limit the escalating tension.

Japan on May 12 expressed support for ASEAN leaders' call for restraint and a de-escalation of tensions in the East Sea, following China’s placement of its rig on Vietnam’s continental shelf and EEZ.

“Japan hopes that all countries concerned will refrain from taking unilateral actions that will heighten the tensions, and act calmly in accordance with relevant international law,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference.

Suga stressed that Japan was deeply concerned about the heightened regional tension due to China's unilateral act.

Earlier, on May 11, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong lauded a May 10 joint statement by foreign ministers of the ten ASEAN member countries on the critical situation in the East Sea.

Regarding China’s statement that disputes the East Sea are bilateral between China and relevant countries, he said that the insistent stance of Singapore and ASEAN countries is that regional security and stability depend on the developments in the waters, so that the bloc should raise its voice about the situation.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the 24th ASEAN Summit in Myanmar on May 10, Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said China and ASEAN countries should adopt a Code of Conduct (COC) for the whole region’s interests.

In his speech at the 24th ASEAN Summit in Naypyidaw, Myanmar on May 11, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stressed the need to realise the ASEAN Political and Security Community to resolve security challenges in the future in Southeast Asia, East Asia and in the globe in general.

He said that the community will increase ASEAN collective capacity to respond to security challenges, and develop a common position on peacefully managing those challenges in accordance with international law and without resorting to military means.

The realisation of a ASEAN Political and Security Community would help ASEAN improve management of East Sea disputes and contribute positively to resolving other challenges, he added.

“Through ASEAN co-operation, we have been able to develop a peaceful and stable region,” he said.

In Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald quoted the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson as saying that the country was calling on all parties concerned to exercise restraint and stop escalating the tension.

On May 12, Doctor Gerhard Will, a German expert on Southeast Asia at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, criticised China’s illegal placement of the Haiyang Shiyou – 981 drilling rig in Vietnam’s EEZ.

The move has raised deep concern not only for the Vietnamese but also among other countries, he said.

He said that China’s move violated the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), signed by China and ASEAN nations.

According to him, the act constituted a serious setback in the efforts to diminish disputes in the East Sea, as well as in the implementation of the DOC signed by China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

China’s deed was not for oil exploratory or exploitation but to realise its groundless sovereignty claim over Vietnam’s waters, he affirmed.

President of the Association of Cambodians of Vietnamese Origin, Chau Van Chi said that over recent days, all Vietnamese people in Cambodia have kept a close watch on the situation in their homeland.

They consider China’s illegal placement of the oil rig in Vietnam’s EEZ as a brazen violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty over its sea and islands, Chi said, adding that they believe in the strong and determined measures of the Vietnamese Party, Government and people in defending the country’s territorial integrity while maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Overseas Vietnamese community and Vietnamese students in Rome, Italy have also strongly protested against China’s violation of international law.

The Association of Vietnamese Students in Italy planned to hold a rally at the Chinese embassy on May 17, in addition to a seminar to voice their stance on the move by China.

The Melbourne Overseas Vietnamese Students’ Association in Australia on May 11 issued a statement strongly opposing China’s violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty.

The statement calls for China’s withdrawal of the drilling rig and all escort vessels out of Vietnam’s EEZ and continental shelf, stopping infringements of Vietnam’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The association requested that China compensate for all the damage it has caused. It also called on peace-loving people around the world to join hands with Vietnam to voice objections against China’s provocative actions in the East Sea.

On May 12, the Overseas Vietnamese Liaison Committee in Singapore sent a letter to Vietnamese leaders, expressing their anger at China’s illegal placement of the Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig in Vietnam’s EEZ and continental shelf, describing it a violation of international law and the peaceful conduct that China and Southeast Asian nations have pledged to respect.

The letter reaffirmed that the Overseas Vietnamese community in Singapore was willing to return to the homeland and join hands in constructing and protecting the country.

Source: nhandan.com.vn