Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Hai Binh
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Concerning Vietnam’s reaction to China’s drilling rig HD 981 being moved to the area off the Tonkin Gulf on April 3 Binh said, “According to Vietnamese functional agencies, on the night of April 3, China’s drilling rig HD 981 moved to the area, whose coordinates are 17o 3’12 North and 110o04’18 East for operations. This area is off the Tonkin Gulf, whose delineation is being discussed by Vietnam and China.
Commenting on China’s construction of a lighthouse on Subi reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago, the official said, “Once again, Vietnam has sufficient legal and historical evidence of its undisputed sovereignty over the Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagoes. China’s action seriously violates Vietnam’s sovereignty over Truong Sa, which is illegal and invalid.
We ask China to immediately end its violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, seriously abide by international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and not to take further actions to complicate the situation in the East Sea.”
The diplomat affirmed that “Viet Nam, once again, affirmed that the country has full legal foundations and historical evidence proving its indisputable sovereignty over the two archipelagoes.” The diplomat said China’s aforementioned act has seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over Truong Sa archipelago. It is illegal and void.
