China’s illegal placement of the oil rig Haiyang 981 at Lot 143 in the East Sea

(VOVworld) – China’s illegal placement of the oil rig Haiyang 981 at Lot 143 in the East Sea has violated the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Ezequiel Ramoneda, Coordinator of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Argentina’s La Plata National University said that according to UNCLOS, as a coastal country, Vietnam has sovereignty over all natural resources as well as drilling and extraction activities for economic purposes in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. China’s illegal positioning of the oil rig ignores Vietnam’s legitimate sovereignty over the Hoang Sa or Paracel Archipelago. Ramoneda voiced his support for Vietnam’s stance of promoting negotiations on the basis of international law to resolve disputes with China.