Vietnam asks for end to live-fire drill in Ba Binh island
(VOVWORLD) - Responding to reporter’s questions about Vietnam’s reaction to Chinese Taiwan’s live-fire exercise on Ba Binh island at a press briefing on Thursday, the Vietnam Foreign Ministry’s deputy spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Tra, said Taiwan’s live-fire drills in Ba Binh Island of Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago, where Vietnam has sufficient legal foundation and historical evidence testifying to its sovereignty, have seriously violated Vietnam’s territorial sovereignty over the two archipelagos.
 The Vietnam Foreign Ministry’s deputy spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Tra |
In addition, these actions have threatened peace, stability, safety, and security of navigation, causing tensions and complicating the East Sea situation. Vietnam is resolute in her objection, and requests that Chinese Taiwan not repeat similar actions.
Regarding Monsanto’s court ruling of 289 million US dollars of punitive damages for its failing to warn that its weed killer causes cancer, the deputy spokeswoman said that Vietnam supports the San Francisco jury’s order. She said that this serves as a precedent, rejecting earlier arguments that the weed killers produced by Monsanto and other US companies which were supplied to the US army during the Vietnam War, were harmless to human health. Vietnam holds that Monsanto shall be held responsible to pay damages to Agent Orange/dioxin victims in Vietnam.