(VOVWORLD) - China has recently stepped up its illegal claims in the South China Sea (known as the East Sea in Vietnam) while the world is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic. But a number of countries have voiced their support for freedom of navigation, rejected China’s claims in the East Sea, and called for international law to be upheld.

(VOVWORLD) - Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang has repeated Vietnam’s full legal grounds and historical evidence asserting its sovereignty over Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagos.

(VOVWORLD) -Chinese Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian has opposed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Twitter on Tuesday condemning Chinese maritime claims in the East Sea as unlawful and dangerous.

(VOVWORLD) - The US has rejected China’s claims as inconsistent with international law, said Kelly Craft, US Ambassador to the UN in a letter sent Monday to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

(VOVWORLD) - China's recent unfounded sovereignty claims in the East Sea have drawn strong backlash from the international community, who say that disobeying international law will incur consequences, including increased tension with the United States and irreparable damage to its relations with other countries.

(VOVWORLD) - The world has closely watched China’s illegal moves in the East Sea (aka the South China Sea). Observers say China, by defying international law, is isolating itself from the international community.

(VOVWORLD) - China’s suspension of fishing in waters under Vietnamese sovereignty in the East Sea carries no weight whatsoever, said Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Tuesday.

(VOVWORLD) - China’s establishment of what it calls the "Xisha" and "Nansha" districts in Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands is a violation of the UN Charter and the 1982 UNCLOS, according to James Kraska, Professor of International Maritime Law at the US Naval War College.

(VOVWORLD) - China’s actions in the East Sea have violated the sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction of Vietnam and other countries and restricted freedom of aviation, navigation, and economic activities there. In the face of China’s bullying, Vietnam has been persistent and uncompromising in defending its national sovereignty against China’s aggression.

(VOVWORLD) - The Vietnam Fisheries Society has strongly protested China’s illegal decision to ban fishing in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) in 2020.