As a mobile structure, China’s oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 can be stationed in the waters of any country, not just Vietnam’s seas as at present, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Vinh warned in a recent interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

>> Vietnam demands reply from China over illegal oil rig>> Live report: Vietnam holds press conference on China’s illicit oil rig >> Vietnam hub summons Chinese Consul General to protest illegal oil rig deployment>> Chinese vessels keep firing water at Vietnamese ships in Vietnam's seas Therefore, the fact that China has had the rig deployed in Vietnam’s waters since May 1 is not only a challenge to the Southeast Asian country but it is also a common risk to other countries if such an illicit deployment cannot be prevented, Vinh said. At the 24th ASEAN Summit, which took place in Myanmar from May 10 to 11, issues related to the East Vietnam Sea were mentioned in many statements issued at the event, the official said. In its joint statement at the summit, ASEAN delivered to the international community, including China, its deep concern about the problems that have caused increasing tensions in the East Vietnam Sea. The ASEAN community, therefore, called on the related parties to comply with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Vietnam Sea (DOC). The ASEAN joint statement manifests a common conception of the bloc’s member states about all the issues related to the East Vietnam Sea, the diplomat said. Among them is the fact that China has illicitly deployed its oil rig in a sea area that is within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, the official said. China has also dispatched a large number of vessels, including military ships, to the waters to guard the rig, and many of these vessels have rammed or fired water cannons at Vietnamese ships when they were requested by the Vietnamese side to leave the Vietnamese waters, he added. The deputy minister emphasized that by planting the rig in the waters, China has intentionally violated Vietnam’s sovereign right and jurisdiction over its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.  China has also infringed the UNCLOS, and the agreements between ASEAN and China, including the DOC. Addressing the 24th ASEAN Summit in Myanmar on Sunday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said that China is threatening peace, stability, and freedom of navigation by illegally deploying the oil rig in Vietnam’s waters, according to Vinh. The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has demanded that China move the drilling rig and escort vessels out of the area and hold talks to resolve differences around the issue, the diplomat added.

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