(VOVworld) - In reply to reporters’ questions regarding the Group of Seven adopting a communiqué expressing concern over current tensions in the East Sea, Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh said the situation there has caused serious concern for the international community and has not helped maintain regional peace and stability in the region.
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| Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh |
Binh added that Vietnam welcomes and supports all constructive and responsible contributions by countries inside and outside the region to this process.
At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hanoi on Thursday, Binh clarified Vietnam’s view on the Chinese ship, Xin Hai 517, entering Vietnamese waters last Saturday and sailing through areas where Vietnam’s oil drilling rigs were operating, before heading to the Gulf of Thailand.
Binh said Vietnam’s relevant agencies had conducted the necessary measures and the ship moved out of Vietnam’s territorial waters on Monday.
Binh commented on the spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the Republic of Korea and the situation for Vietnamese citizens there:
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnam’s diplomatic corps abroad have recommended Vietnamese nationals to restrict traveling to the disease-affected areas and take preventative measures. No cases of Vietnamese people or foreigners in Vietnam have been recorded to contract with the deadly disease. But we are keeping a close eye on developments to take timely steps.”
Binh also said that the third meeting of the Vietnam-South Africa inter-governmental partnership forum was scheduled to take place in Hanoi next week.