07/05/2014
Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh spoke on the phone with Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi on the afternoon of May 6th on China’s drilling rig HYSY-981 and its ships operating in Vietnam’s waters.
During the talks, the Deputy PM, who is also the Vietnamese Foreign Minister, stressed that China’s unilateral bringing of the rig and a large number of vessels, including military ships, to operate in oil and gas Lot 143 on Vietnam’s continental shelf since May 1st is illegal and runs counter to international law and practice. He said that the move had seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and its sovereign right and jurisdiction over the country’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
He added that the act also negatively impacts political trust and cooperation between the two countries and hurts the Vietnamese people.
Vietnam cannot accept but resolutely opposes China’s act, and demands that it completely withdraw the drilling rig and escort vessels from the area and hold talks to settle differences around the issue, Minh said.
Read more at Vietnamplus
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