Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Le Hai Binh
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh made the statement at the press briefing on Thursday in reply to reporters’ queries on Vietnam’s reaction to China’s deployment of warplanes to Phu Lam island in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago and its radar system on several features in Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago.
Binh re-affirmed that Vietnam has indisputable sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes.
Vietnam strongly opposes to the actions that seriously encroach its sovereignty and demands China have responsible and constructive words and deeds in maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, he said.
Asked what Vietnam’s viewpoint would be if it is suggested the country should join a patrol with the US and its allies, Binh said Vietnam has conducted normal activities in the region in accordance with the country’s law, and international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS.
The activities, which are performed by Vietnamese competent agencies, have always contributed to peace and stability in the region and the world at large.
Vietnam has repeatedly stated its viewpoint of respecting innocent passage through the country’s territorial waters in line with relevant rules of international law, especially the UNCLOS, he said.
Vietnam called on contries to make constructive and practical contributions to maintain peace and stability in the East Sea and the region on the basis of the UN Charter, international law and the UNCLOS.
Regarding tensions in the East Sea, Binh said the recent developments in the region, especially in Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes, show that the region’s status quo is being broken.
But what worth more concerns is the militarization in the East Sea, he added.