Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang stated that China's deployment of the Haiyang Shiyou 943 drilling rig outside the Gulf of Tonkin is a unilateral activity that complicates the situation in the area under negotiation between Vietnam and China.

Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang. (Photo: Pham Kien/VNA)

Answering reporters' questions at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the afternoon of March 31 in Hanoi, Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang said:

“According to the announcement from China, the area where China’s Haiyang 943 drilling rig is operating is in the waters outside the mouth of the Gulf of Tonkin. This is an area where Vietnam and China are still negotiating to demarcate. Therefore, the relevant parties need to avoid unilateral activities that complicate the situation and are not beneficial to the negotiations and demarcation in this sea area."

Ms. Pham Thu Hang also emphasized: "For its part, Vietnam reserves its legal rights and interests in this area in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and relevant international practices"./.

According to Vietnam+