Vietnam resolutely opposes the illegal survey operations performed by China’s Hai Yang 26 vessel in Vietnamese waters in the East Vietnam Sea and demands that China stop these activities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday.

Pham Thu Hang, spokeswoman for the ministry, made the announcement at a press briefing in Hanoi in response to reporters’ queries regarding the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy survey vessel Hai Yang 26 conducting illegal survey activities in Vietnamese waters in the East Vietnam Sea.

Hang said that Vietnam has repeatedly communicated with China regarding such illegal operations.  

She emphasized that Vietnam is extremely concerned about, and resolutely objects to, the unlawful survey activities of China’s Hai Yang 26 vessel in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.

Vietnam requests that China cease such illicit activities, refrain from repeating such actions in the future, fully respect Vietnam's sovereign rights and jurisdiction in line with international law, and adhere to UNCLOS 1982 and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Vietnam Sea (DOC), stated Hang. 

China should seriously implement high-level conceptions reached by Vietnamese and Chinese leaders on better control and settlement of maritime disputes to maintain the development momentum of bilateral relations and contribute to peace and stability in the East Vietnam Sea positively and responsibly, the spokeswoman said.

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