Vietnam is ready to deal with the Hai Duong 981 oil rig.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said Vietnam was prepared to respond when China announced the deployment of the Haiyang 981 oil rig to the South China Sea.

Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Le Hai Binh. Photo: Quy Doan

"Vietnamese authorities are closely monitoring the activities of China's Haiyang 981 oil rig and are making preparations to be ready to respond to any situations that may arise at sea," Mr. Binh said at a press conference this afternoon. He also stated that the rig is currently located outside Vietnam's territorial waters.

According to the China Maritime Safety Administration, China deployed the Haiyang 981 drilling rig to operate in the Lingshui 25-1S-1 well area in the South China Sea, 75 nautical miles southeast of Sanya city, Hainan province. The operation lasted from May 6th to May 16th.

This is the oil rig that China illegally deployed on Vietnam's continental shelf and exclusive economic zone in early May last year. Beijing's deployment of numerous ships and aircraft to protect the rig, along with collisions with Vietnamese law enforcement vessels and fishing boats, heightened tensions in the region. After more than two months, China moved the Haiyang 981 oil rig back to Lingshui, Hainan.

Referring to the US announcement of plans to send ships and aircraft near the area where China is carrying out large-scale reclamation in the Spratly Islands, Mr. Binh stated that maintaining peace, stability, security, and safety of maritime and air navigation in the South China Sea is a common interest and aspiration of countries inside and outside the region.

"We hope that all relevant parties and countries inside and outside the region will make positive efforts to contribute to maintaining peace, stability, security, and maritime safety in the region, and refrain from actions that further complicate the situation. All activities of the relevant parties must comply with international law, respect the sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction of countries in the South China Sea, and strictly adhere to the Declaration of the Parties on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC)," the spokesperson said.

The U.S. warship USS Fort Worth yesterday completed patrols in international waters and airspace in the South China Sea, including its first close approach to reefs in the Spratly Islands that China is illegally reclaiming. This event follows an unnamed U.S. official saying the military is considering a proposal to send aircraft and naval vessels within approximately 22 kilometers (12 nautical miles) of the reefs China is building on in the Spratly Islands.

In response to an AP question about the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) publishing satellite images showing that since 2011, Vietnam has expanded Da Tay Island by 65,000 square meters and Son Ca Island by 21,000 square meters, constructing military facilities, Mr. Le Hai Binh emphasized that these activities by Vietnam are completely legal.

"The activities aim to improve Vietnam's outdated facilities on the islands in the Spratly archipelago to serve the minimum living needs of people on the structures that Vietnam is currently managing. This is a normal activity, consistent with the DOC Declaration, does not alter the status quo, does not harm the environment, and does not further complicate the situation in the South China Sea," Mr. Binh said.

Regarding the fact that China is pushing to expand its presence on seven reefs in the Spratly Islands, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated that Vietnam has indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos. Vietnam resolutely opposes actions that infringe upon Vietnam's sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the East Sea. Vietnam urges all relevant parties to exercise restraint, refrain from actions that alter the status quo, threaten peace, stability, freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, and fully comply with the DOC and relevant provisions of international law, especially UNCLOS.

A spokesperson said today that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Vietnamese authorities are searching for 16 Vietnamese fishermen from Ly Son Island who are believed to have gone missing at Gaven Reef after seeking shelter from a storm.

According to VNE