(VOVWORLD) -Vietnamese functional agencies have closely watched developments in the East Sea, spokeswoman for the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang told reporters on Wednesday.

(VOVWORLD) - Vietnam has taken correct and timely action on the East Sea issue by sending a diplomatic note to the UN Secretary General to oppose China's claim over the East Sea and assert Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, according to Russian international law researchers and experts.

(VOVWORLD) - The US Department of Defense on Thursday expressed great concern over reports that a Chinese Coast Guard vessel collided with and sank a Vietnam fishing boat near the Paracel Islands in the East Sea.

(VOVWORLD) - Dr. Gerhard Will, a German expert on the East Sea, said in an interview with Vietnam News Agency in Germany that China should quit militarizing the East Sea and show a willingness to cooperate in security and economics on the basis of equality and the observance of international law.

(VOVWORLD) - The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday issued a statement expressing its deep concern over a Chinese coast guard vessel sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat in the East Sea on April 3.

(VOVWORLD) - Russian researchers studying East Sea issues have condemned the Chinese coast guard’s sinking of a Vietnamese fishing vessel in the waters of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, saying the international community will support Vietnam.

(VOVWORLD) - Vietnam has protested against China’s activities in Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagoes.

(VOVWORLD) - Vietnam rejects any maritime claims by China that are based on the so-called “nine-dash line” in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea), a Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has said.

(VOVWORLD) - Researchers discussed security of the East Sea and the Indo-Pacific region at a seminar on Tuesday at the Institute of Oriental Languages and Culture, in Paris.

(VOVWORLD) - China has recently included the image of the controversial nine-dash line on T-shirts, lapel pins, globes, maps, digital maps, and in films and textbooks. This shows that China does not miss any opportunity to promote its baseless claims to the East Sea. The so-called nine-dash line was rejected by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016. Vietnam, other regional countries, and the international community should work closely with each other to fight Beijing’s false claims. In this week’s Q&A, we discuss the issue with Carl Thayer, Emeritus Professor at the University of New South Wales, Australian Defence Force Academy.