Peace committee concerned about China’s East Sea violation
A Vietnamese vessel damaged by Chinese ships
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(VOVworld) - The Vietnam Peace Committee (VPC) has condemned China’s recent violation of Vietnam’s territorial waters, affecting the time-honoured friendship between the two peoples. In a letter to the Chinese Association for Peace and Disarmament on Saturday, VPC expressed concerned about China’s May 2 deployment of its giant drilling rig HD-981 and escort vessels, including military ships, to an East Sea area lying completely within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. Many Chinese vessels even rammed Vietnamese ships, injuring a number of Vietnamese sailors and causing huge property damage. VPC stressed that such actions are a serious violation of Vietnam’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, running counter to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).
These actions also violate the agreements on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues reached between senior leaders of Vietnam and China, as well as exchanges of views and agreements between the Vietnam Peace Committee and the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament. They constitute the main cause of tension and threat to stability in the East Sea.
They not only adversely impact the political trust between Vietnam and China and their on-going negotiations on sea-related issues, but also negatively affect the time-honoured friendship between the two peoples. Vietnamese people are deeply concerned about the tension, and demanded China put an immediate end to these actions and ensure they will not happen again in the future.
The Vietnam Peace Committee stands energetically against the above-mentioned moves, and proposes that the Chinese Association for Peace and Disarmament take positive measures conducive to preserving the traditional friendship and cooperation between the peoples of Vietnam and China.