U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry considers China’s unilateral deployment of its oil rig in the East Vietnam Sea a provocative act, while praising Vietnam’s goodwill in dealing with the tension caused by China.

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Kerry made the comment during a phone call on Wednesday with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh about the East Vietnam Sea situation after China illegally planted its drilling rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf on May 2, and is maintaining the platform and its escort vessels there despite the strong opposition from Vietnam. During the talk, Deputy PM Minh, who is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs, briefed Kerry about the latest developments related to the illegal operation of the Chinese rig in the Vietnamese waters.  The Chinese side has deployed a large number of vessels, including warships, to the area to guard the rig, and has continuously increased this force, causing tension to the area, Minh told U.S. Secretary Kerry. The American diplomat highly appreciated Vietnam’s restraint and goodwill reflected in its efforts to settle the dispute by peaceful measures and dialogues, avoiding escalation of tension that will harm peace and stability in the region. The U.S. Secretary of State also expressed his deep concern about the fact that China has unilaterally positioned its oil rig in Vietnamese waters in the East Vietnam Sea, considering it a provocative act that has caused more tension in the region. Kerry also reiterated the U.S.’s policy that disputes in the East Vietnam Sea must be settled peacefully based on international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.U.S. to grant $18 million to Vietnamese coast guards In another development, in a report on budget delivered at the Asia Pacific Sub-Committee of the Foreign Affairs Committee under the U. S. House of Representatives, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel mentioned the East Vietnam Sea situation. Russel put an emphasis on the importance of the international community in criticizing China for unilateral acts that are aimed at making changes to the status quo in the sea. The fact that China has unilaterally planted its oil rig in sea waters that belong to Vietnam and committed some other unilateral actions to change the actual conditions in the East Vietnam Sea are issues of concerns at present. Russel also repeated the announcement by Kerry during his visit to Vietnam in December 2013 that the U.S. will support ASEAN countries to improve their maritime capabilities with a fund of more than $156 million. Of the amount, $18 million will be given to Vietnam to help enhance the operation capacity of the Vietnam Coast Guard in search, rescue, salvage, responses to disasters and others, Russel said.

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