The MoFA reiterates call for China’s withdrawal from East Sea

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) stressed at its press conference on the East Sea situation today that China was continuing to ram Vietnamese law enforcement vessels and fishing boats, further complicating the situation.

The MoFA’s National Boundary Commission vice chairman Tran Duy Hai said that since China illegally placed its oil rig in the East Sea in early May, under the United Nations Charter, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Declaration of Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and other high level agreements between the two countries, Vietnam has made numerous public statements and sent several dispatches to the Chinese, which have been met with silence.

“Not only has China not responded to Vietnam’s goodwill, but it has also slandered Vietnam in saying that Vietnamese ships have rammed its ships more than 1,500 times without producing evidence to that fact,” Hai said. “Meanwhile, Vietnam has published its evidence in the form of videos and images of Chinese ships and aircraft’s aggressive and violent actions such as ramming and using water cannons against Vietnamese law enforcement vessels.”

On the afternoon of May 2 the oil rig was positioned just south of Tri Ton, which lies 80 miles within Vietnam’s continental shelf, 119 miles from Ly Son Island, and 130 nautical miles from Vietnam’s coast line. On May 27 it was moved to a different, but equally near, position in Vietnamese waters.

According to the MoFA, drilling rig HD-981 is undeniably operating within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. The rig and its Chinese naval escort seriously violates the sovereignty and jurisdiction of Vietnam under the provisions of UNCLOS and DOC, as well as other agreements, including one that governs the settlement of maritime issues between the two countries.

“Vietnam again demands that China immediately withdraw the drilling platform and related ships, equipment and personnel from Vietnam’s continental shelf,” said MoFA spokesman Le Hai Binh. “Vietnam also demands that China respect its sovereignty over the Truong Sa [Spratly] and Hoang Sa [Paracel] archipelagos and respects the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of Vietnam over its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.”

The rig is accompanied by up to 140 vessels, including heavily armed military ships. Chinese aircraft have also been spotted in the area.

At the press conference, Vietnam’s maritime police deputy commander Ngo Ngoc Thu showed a video clip of Chinese ships attacking Vietnamese vessels and noted that, “the Chinese have used water cannons to attack Vietnamese law enforcement vessels.”

Up to June 16, 2014, twenty three Vietnamese fisheries surveillance vessels, five maritime police vessels and seven fishing boats have been seriously damaged, with 15 fisheries surveillance officers and two Vietnamese fishermen injured by broken glass as a result of Chinese water cannon fire.

Thu said the Vietnamese side had been broadcasting a signal ordering the removal of the rig and the Chinese ships leave Vietnamese waters. “We have been patient and acted with self-restraint in the face of aggression. We have not deployed any naval vessels, only police and coastguard patrol boats.”

Vietnam had all historical evidence and a legal basis that attest to its sovereignty over the Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagos. It was entitled to sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its EEZ and continental shelf in accordance with the 1982 UNCLOS, the MoFA stressed.