Defend the sovereignty

The US has once again urged China to restrain itself in activities in the East Sea, according to international media.

There are five scenarios for the East Sea dispute in the next 10 years.

Under international law, the fact that the Nguyen Dynasty or the French colonialists did not regularly or positively exercise sovereignty in the Hoang Sa Archipelago (Paracel Islands) does not mean that Vietnam gives up its sovereignty over this archipelago.

As a freelance journalist and photographer, Yasufumi Murayama has visited Vietnam 37 times in the last 16 years. He borrowed $10,000 to hold the photo exhibition "Hoang Sa Feelings" in HCM City from July 24-31, at the Radio and Television College II, No. 75 Tran Nhan Ton Street, Ward 9, District 5.

Viet Nam should prepare to take its case against China to the international court of justice, even though it has moved its Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig out of the country`s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, the two-day conference held in HCM City heard on Saturday.

The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) has severe reservations about China`s actions which have adversely impacted the international situation, said IADL President Jeanne Mirer on a recent working visit to Vietnam.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has once again affirmed Vietnam’s indisputable sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the European Union (EU) Pham Sanh Chau on July 17 posted an article on the European Political Newspaper NewEurope, showing his strong opposition to a wrongful view on the East Sea by the Chinese Ambassador to Belgium and EU.

Safeguarding national sovereignty is a sacred mission requiring all to actively and resolutely fight every violation of the country’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has said.

The US welcomes China`s declaration on its removal of the oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 from the position near Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago to an area near China’s Hainan Island.

At 18:30 on July 16, China’s oil rig Haiyang Shiyou – 981 was 41 nautical miles from its previous position and out of Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, about 163 nautical miles southwest of China’s Hainan island, reported the Vietnam Coast Guard High Command.

Vietnam demands China not take its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 back or dispatch any other rigs to Vietnam’s oil and gas Block 143 or any other areas belonging to Vietnam’s waters as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in order to create a peaceful and stable environment in the East Sea, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Hai Binh has said.

The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) announced on July 15 that the rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 has completed the drilling and exploration near Tri Ton island of Vietnam`s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, and is heading towards Lingshui region of Hainan island.

To help the Chinese public and the Chinese people understand the truth, Chinese scholar Li Linghua has published evidence about the origin of islands in the East Sea and the wrong and dangerous U-shaped line of China.

Chinese ships protecting the illegally-placed oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 on July 14 continued taking aggressive acts to hinder Vietnamese law enforcement ships that were operating in their national waters.

VietNamNet’s Huynh Phan talked with Tran Huy Cong, representative of the Japanese television broadcaster NDN in Vietnam, about his journey to Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in late May.

The Francophone Parliamentary Assembly (APF) has recently adopted a resolution calling on concerned parties to respect international law to ensure peace and security in the East Sea.

The US Senate has adopted a resolution denouncing China’s unilateral actions in the East Sea and demanding a return of the status quo before May 1, 2014.

The US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted the fourth annual seminar on the East Sea in Washington DC on July 10, bringing together leading world scholars from the US, China, India, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations in Ho Chi Minh City (HUFO) on July 10 issued a statement protesting China ’s illegal activities in the East Sea.