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China dispatches two aircraft to illicit oil rig

VGP – China on Monday dispatched two aircraft to guard the oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 illegally installed in Viet Nam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, according to the Vietnamese Fisheries Surveillance Department.

July 07, 2014 9:24 PM GMT+7

Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong: "From the point of view of a country which must survive in the international system where there are big countries and small, outcomes cannot be determined just by might is right.”

The Department also reported that China still maintained some 110 ships of all kinds, including four military ones around the illicit rig.

It has been more than two months since China illegally moved the rig as well as a large fleet of armed vessels, military ships and aircraft to Viet Nam’s waters and positioned the rig at 15 degrees 29 minutes 58 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 12 minutes 06 seconds east longitude. The location is 80 miles deep inside Viet Nam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

Viet Nam has exercised utmost restraint, showed every gesture of goodwill and exhausted all dialogue channels to communicate with the Chinese authorities of different levels for expressing protest and demanding China immediately withdraw its drilling rig and armed and military vessels from the Vietnamese waters. Nevertheless, up to now, China has failed to respond to Viet Nam’s legitimate demand. On the contrary, China has been slandering and blaming Viet Nam while continuing to escalate its increasingly dangerous and serious acts of violation.

China has kept on escalating tension by encircling, chasing, ramming and firing water cannons at Vietnamese law enforcement forces and fishing boats. More seriously, China sank a Vietnamese fishing boat with ten persons on board on May 26.

One day later, China expanded the rig’s operation by moving it to 15 degrees 33 minutes 22 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 34 minutes 36 seconds east longitude, 25 nautical miles from Tri Ton Island in Viet Nam’s Hoang Sa archipelago and 23 nautical miles east-northeast from the old location.

On June 3, the oil rig moved yet again to another new position, at 15 degrees 33 minutes 36 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 34 minutes 11 seconds east longitude. The new position is still completely within Viet Nam’s continental shelf. 

Recently, China issued a vertical map that includes a cow tongue line covering nearly the entire East Viet Nam Sea. Immediately, Viet Nam and the Philippines rejected the ridiculous map.

The above dangerous actions of China have been directly threatening peace, stability and maritime security and safety in the East Viet Nam Sea. China has also been widely condemned by the international community for aggressive and provocative attitude.

Speaking at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations on June 24, Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong said: “From the point of view of a country which must survive in the international system where there are big countries and small, outcomes cannot be determined just by might is right.”

PM Lee expressed his belief that international law must have a big weight in how territorial issues are resolved.

He said that Singapore supports efforts by ASEAN to negotiate with China a Code of Conduct in the East Sea to manage and resolve the territorial issues that have increased tension in the region.

China, a member of the United Nations Security Council, must comply with international law and show positive attitude to the regional and international peace and security because this is the modern and civilized world./.

By Quang Trung