General Vinh: Information about China bringing artillery to artificial islands is a bad sign

The Deputy Minister of Defense said that if the information about China bringing artillery to the area it is reclaiming and renovating in the East Sea is true, this would be a very worrying development.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Minister of National Defense. Photo: VNA

"If this really happens, it is a very bad sign for the already complicated situation in the East Sea," Reuters quoted Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh, talking about information that China brought weapons to an area it was reclaiming in the East Sea, on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue security forum in Singapore.

The US confirmed on May 29 that China had moved artillery to an artificial island Beijing built in the East Sea and condemned this as an "escalating and worrying development".

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh said he wanted the entire international community to work together to stop China's reclamation activities. "I hope that the international community will always be responsible for peace, stability, and development in the region and not ignore violations of international law," he said.

On May 29, Mr. Vinh had a bilateral meeting with Admiral Sun Jian Guo, deputy chief of the general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), and asked China to respect Vietnam's sovereignty.

"We are military people so we are very clear and straightforward, unlike diplomats," he said. "We are very clear about our stance of maintaining our sovereignty, respecting international law and maintaining responsibility between Vietnam and China."

Beijing has brazenly claimed sovereignty over most of the East Sea and in recent months has stepped up large-scale reclamation and renovation activities on reefs in the Spratly Islands, which belong to Vietnam. Vietnam has demanded that China immediately cease construction activities in the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, and strictly comply with and enforce international law.

According to VNE