(Photo: VNG)
Presiding the press conference were Mr. Tran Duy Hai, Deputy Director of the National Border Committee; Mr. Do Van Hau, General Director of PetroVietnam; Mr. Ngo Ngoc Thu, Deputy Commander, General Chief of Staff of the Vietnam Command of Marine Police; Mr. Ngo Mai Thinh, representative of the Vietnam Fisheries Control Department and Mr. Le Hai Binh, Foreign Ministry Spokesman and acting head of the Foreign Ministry’s Press and Information Department.
At the press conference, Mr. Ngo Ngoc Thu, deputy Commander cum Chief-of-Staff of the Vietnam Marine Police said that now China has mobilized 80 assorted ships, including 7 military ships. Besides, tens of groups of planes are found flying over the area every day. Even a group of armed fishing ships have come close to Ly Son Island, 50 to 69 nautical miles away.
Chinese ships had surrounded Vietnamese fisheries control ships, causing damage and wounding some people of the fisheries control force. Even though the Vietnamese side has been calling on the Chinese side to stop their violation of Vietnam’s territorial waters, they continue to cause damage to Vietnam’s fisheries control force.
When the law enforcement ships of Vietnam came to stop the illegal encroachment of China’s HD-981 oil rig, Chinese ships had used large-capacity water cannon to attack or even these ships ran into Vietnamese ships, damaging Vietnamese ships. As a result, Vietnam’s ship 4033 had been heavily damaged. On May 4, Chinese marine police ship 44103 had run straight into Vietnamese marine police ship 2012, damaging its equiement.
At the same time, China used its plane serial number 8321 to fly over Vietnamese marine police ship 8003 to intimidate Vietnamese ships.
In face of the situation, Vietnam’s law enforcement force was sent in time to the site to control and stop China’s violation of Vietnam’s territorial waters, sending signal requesting China’s HD-981 oil rig to leave Vietnam’s territorial waters at once. Vietnam is determined to defend its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, its sovereignty right and jurisdiction over the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
Vietnam has had full evidences concerning historical and legal base to affirm its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago and called on the Chinese side to sit down to negotiate by peaceful means to settle the dispute based on international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. In this incident, Deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh had telephone conversation with the Chinese counter part Zhang Jiechi to lodge protest against China’s HD-981 oil rig in Vietnam’s territorial waters.
At the press conference, the Vietnam Fisheries Control Force reiterated its determination to control to defend Vietnam’s soreignty right and jurisdiction over Vietnam’s territorial waters, its exclusive economic zones and continental shelf./.
