5th International Press Conference on the situation in the East Sea

The international press conference organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs began at 5:00 p.m. on June 16 in Hanoi.

This is the fifth time the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has held an international press conference since China illegally placed the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

At previous press conferences, the consistent viewpoint of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has always emphasized: The area where China illegally placed the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig is located entirely within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. The activities of the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig and Chinese escort vessels have seriously violated Vietnam's rights, sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Hoang Sa archipelago, violated international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, violated the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and other relevant agreements between the two countries' senior leaders.

Vietnam demands that China immediately withdraw the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig and its protective vessels from Vietnam's waters.

At press conferences, representatives of the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department and the Vietnam Coast Guard also presented images and videos proving the aggressive and reckless actions of Chinese patrol vessels in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

Mr. Le Hai Binh, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke at the beginning of the press conference.

At exactly 5:00 p.m., Mr. Le Hai Binh, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, began the press conference.

In recent days, China has continued to operate illegally in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone despite Vietnam's persistence, spirit, and strong voice of protest.

China continues to be aggressive, deliberately spraying water cannons with high intensity to threaten, while also beating fishermen and sinking Vietnamese boats operating normally in the East Sea. In addition to these aggressive illegal activities, China has continuously made false statements about the current tensions.

On June 8-9, China published a document titled "Operations on the Haiyang Shiyou-981 Oil Rig," Vietnam's provocation, and requested the United Nations to circulate it. On June 13, a Chinese representative held a press conference and made false and baseless allegations about the situation at sea.

In that context, we held a press conference to denounce China's false arguments and current practice.

17:05: Mr. Tran Duy Hai, Deputy Head of the National Border Committee, said that recently, China has increased tensions in the East Sea.

In early May, China moved a drilling rig into Vietnam's continental shelf and exclusive economic zone. The rig was moved but remained deep in Vietnam's continental shelf and exclusive economic zone. This action violated Vietnam's rights, sovereignty, jurisdiction, and international conventions. Vietnam consistently protested.

China has conducted many seismic surveys and explorations, and Vietnam has communicated and sent diplomatic notes of protest many times, including at least three high-level communications. Speaking to the press, China loudly blamed Vietnam, claiming that Vietnamese ships had collided and even sunk Chinese ships. The reality is clear to everyone, including journalists who have been on the ground.

Vietnam's viewpoint: Vietnam rejects China's claim of sovereignty over the Paracel Islands because it is baseless. Historical documents do not have accurate sources, are all from individuals, not from the state, and are arbitrary inferences. Exercising sovereignty in the name of the state, the documents have not proven that the feudal Chinese state established sovereignty over the Paracel Islands.

"Vietnam has never recognized China's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago," Mr. Tran Duy Hai emphasized.

At 5:15 p.m., two reports on historical evidence of Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago were shown.

Journalists present at the press conference watched an English clip about evidence of sovereignty over the Paracel Islands.

"There are many other related documents" - Mr. Tran Duy Hai emphasized.

Vietnam is making efforts and showing goodwill to resolve current tensions in the East Sea through negotiations and peaceful measures, but China has not shown goodwill, Mr. Hai emphasized.

Vietnam has made more than 30 contacts with China, but China has refused.

China has not made any accusations about Vietnam ramming or colliding with Chinese ships.

Once again, Vietnam resolutely demands that China respect international law, withdraw its drilling rig and equipment, and not repeat similar actions in the future.

China insists it will not withdraw the rig. China's claim that the door to negotiations is open is not true.

International reporters attentively follow documents affirming Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago. (Photo: Bach-Dung/Vietnam+)

17:28: Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thap, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, presented Vietnam's legal exploration activities on the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone of Vietnam.

Mr. Thap said: Over the past 40 years, the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group has deployed oil and gas exploration and exploitation on the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone, including Hoang Sa. The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group has been and will continue to cooperate with many international oil and gas companies to exploit the entire continental shelf of Vietnam.

Mr. Thap also said that Vietnam has signed more than 100 oil and gas exploitation contracts with international companies, of which 61 contracts are still in effect.

“All of the above activities are within Vietnam's continental shelf and 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone,” Mr. Thap emphasized.

"The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group continues to affirm that China's reliance on the absurd nine-dash line to say that Vietnam's 57 oil and gas lots are in disputed areas is completely baseless. China deliberately turns undisputed sea areas into disputed areas, while in fact these areas lie entirely within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone. The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group once again strongly protests China's illegal oil and gas activities. We request that the Chinese oil and gas group immediately withdraw the drilling rig from Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. We also request that China stop similar activities in the future," Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thap emphasized.

17:42: Mr. Ngo Ngoc Thu, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Vietnam Coast Guard Command continued to report on developments on the ground.

According to the Deputy Commander of the General Staff of the Vietnam Coast Guard, on June 15, China used 110 ships to protect the drilling rig, including 6 warships: 2 missile frigates, 2 fast attack missile boats, 2 minesweepers, 34 coast guard ships, 2 coast guard ships, 2 patrol boats, and the rest were fishing boats of various types. Also on the same day, the Vietnam Coast Guard detected 2 flights of aircraft flying many circles over Vietnamese ships in the area where China placed the drilling rig at an altitude of 300-500m. In addition, when Vietnamese law enforcement ships approached the area where China placed the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig from 8.2-10 nautical miles, China used 16 coast guard ships and tugboats to prevent them.

Regarding the method of operation, Mr. Thu said, Chinese ships are still divided into 3 rings to protect the illegally placed Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig.

Specifically, the inner ring 1-1.5 nautical miles from the Haiyang Shiyou-981 rig has 10-15 protection ships; the middle ring 4.5-5 nautical miles from the Haiyang Shiyou-981 rig has 40-45 protection ships. The outer ring 10-12 nautical miles from the Haiyang Shiyou-981 rig has 25-35 protection ships.

“China also always has 9-12 ships following Vietnamese ships, ready to block and collide at a distance of 10-12 nautical miles from the rig,” Mr. Ngo Ngoc Thu emphasized.

When Vietnamese law enforcement ships enter the area where China illegally placed the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig for propaganda purposes, Chinese ships will block the front, lock the stern, and press the sides to prepare to ram, using high-powered water guns, audio systems, and high-powered headlights aimed at Vietnamese ships.

Chinese ships were ready to use water cannons and ram Vietnamese law enforcement vessels. In addition, China blew its horns and turned on its headlights, causing psychological instability among Vietnamese crew members. There were 40-45 Chinese fishing vessels divided into 2 groups blocking Vietnamese fishing vessels in the 30-40 nautical mile area in the Southwest and West Southwest regions.

“We are still at the scene despite the big waves to fight against the illegal actions of the Chinese ship,” Mr. Thu emphasized.

According to him, on June 13, the Chinese Foreign Ministry held a press conference on the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig, in which it provided some information and images that were inconsistent with the actual situation at the scene. We would like to clarify to the public as follows: China announced that as of June 13, Vietnamese ships had rammed Chinese ships 1,547 times, causing damage to Chinese ships. We reject the above illogical and false information. Only China proactively rammed Vietnam, causing damage to many Vietnamese ships. Currently, 15 fisheries inspectors and a number of fishermen have been injured. We have full photographic evidence of Chinese ships ramming Vietnamese ships. We would like to confirm that up to this point, Vietnam has not used frogmen at the scene. Regarding some floating objects that China salvaged, the reason is that this is a traditional Vietnamese fishing area. When Vietnamese fishermen were fishing, China prevented them, so Vietnam was forced to drop their nets to avoid that interference. Chinese ships seized Vietnamese nets and brought them back as evidence.

“China asserted that it did not send warships and aircraft to the scene, but we have recorded all the ship and aircraft numbers at the scene. That is undeniable evidence,” said Mr. Ngo Ngoc Thu.

Although Chinese patrol ships continued to fiercely obstruct, Vietnamese law enforcement forces remained extremely restrained but determined, persistent, strictly implemented countermeasures, and proactively maneuvered to avoid provocative actions by Chinese ships.

17:53: Mr. Ha Le, Deputy Director of Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department continues with information on the current situation at sea.

According to information from the Deputy Director of the Fisheries Surveillance Department, in recent times, China has continuously maintained about 120 ships per day, actively attacking and threatening Vietnamese fisheries surveillance ships in many forms. In particular, China has also used pretexts and fake data to falsely accuse Vietnam of ramming Chinese ships.

“Currently, there has not been any case of a Vietnamese ship actively ramming a Chinese ship as reported by China,” Mr. Ha Le emphasized.

18:00: Vietnam shows images and videos showing China's aggressive attitude as well as Vietnam's patient and persistent attitude.

18:05: Q&A session begins.

In response to the question about the recent photos, videos, and evidence that China has provided that a Vietnamese ship rammed a Chinese ship, Mr. Ngo Ngoc Thu once again affirmed that the information China provided about a Vietnamese ship ramming a Chinese ship is completely fabricated.

Tien Phong Newspaper: Recently, China has said that Vietnam is wrong in saying that China used force to occupy Hoang Sa. Could you please comment on this point of view, representative of the National Border Committee?

Mr. Tran Duy Hai: These are statements that distort and falsify the truth. In 1974, China took advantage of the war situation to attack the Republic of Vietnam forces stationed on the islands of Hoang Sa. This is a historical fact that even Chinese websites acknowledge. The use of force to invade Hoang Sa affirms that China cannot have sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago.

VOV reporter: Recently, some regional diplomats have proposed that ASEAN countries take a tougher approach to China in order to have a code of conduct. Does Vietnam expect anything or take any action to propose that ASEAN issue its own joint statement on the East Sea issue?

Mr. Tran Duy Hai: We have repeatedly affirmed that Vietnam has sufficient historical and legal evidence to affirm its sovereignty over Hoang Sa, so all of China's activities are illegal. Vietnam supports ASEAN's efforts in general to maintain peace, including in demanding that China stop actions that create tension in the East Sea.

A representative of AP Hanoi news agency has a question for the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group: So far, what concerns have foreign partners cooperating with the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group expressed and what is Vietnam's response to the above issue?

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thap: As soon as China illegally placed the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig, the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group met and had dialogues with all partners who were cooperating in oil and gas exploitation in the Hoang Sa sea area. At these meetings, we received very good signals when all parties announced that: They shared and supported the stance and statements of the Oil and Gas Group as well as the Vietnamese Government. They affirmed that the activities of the Oil and Gas Group and themselves were completely cooperative, so they would continue to implement the previously signed contracts, despite the Chinese side's untrue statements.

In response to the AP's question about whether Vietnam will bring up the East Sea issue at the upcoming meeting of the Vietnam-China Intergovernmental Committee, Mr. Le Hai Binh, Spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: I believe that the issue of China illegally placing the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig will be discussed. As we have repeatedly affirmed, Vietnam is always persistent in seeking a dialogue channel with China to resolve the current tension, so this meeting will be an event for the two sides to discuss and find a solution.

Vietnamnet reporter: China has built many structures around Vietnam's Truong Sa area. What is your opinion on this issue?

Mr. Le Hai Binh: In Truong Sa, China has illegally built in the Gac Ma area that China used force to occupy. Vietnam protests and demands that China respect sovereignty, and demands that China immediately stop illegal construction and expansion and other unilateral activities that change the status quo in Truong Sa and the East Sea.

This was also the last question of the press conference. The meeting ended at 18:35.

According to Vietnam+