(VOV) - Vietnam consistently pursues a policy of defending its national sovereignty through peaceful means, within the constraints of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), so as to maintain peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea. Vietnamese Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh made the statement at a meeting Tuesday with his Chinese counterpart Chang Wanquan on the sidelines of the 8^th ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM-8) now taking place in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw.

Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh

General Thanh said China has placed its drilling rig Haiyang 981 within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, sparking outrage among Vietnamese people and causing deep concern throughout the region. Thanh asked China to refrain from deploying military boats to ram or fire water cannons at Vietnamese boats, provoking public outrage and demanding the friendship between the two peoples.