Vietnam is ready to deal with the Haiyang 981 drilling rig.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said Vietnam has prepared to respond when China announced the deployment of the Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig in the East Sea.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Le Hai Binh. Photo: Quy Doan

"Vietnamese authorities are closely monitoring the activities of China's Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig and are preparing to respond to any situations that may arise at sea," Binh said at a press conference this afternoon. He also said the rig is currently outside Vietnam's waters.

According to the China Maritime Safety Administration, the Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig is operating in the Lingshui 25-1S-1 well area in the East Sea, 75 nautical miles southeast of Sanya City, Hainan Province. The operation period lasts from May 6 to May 16.

This is the rig that China illegally placed in Vietnam's continental shelf and exclusive economic zone in early May last year. Beijing's deployment of many ships and planes to protect the rig, ramming Vietnamese authorities' ships and fishing boats, has increased tensions in the area. After more than two months, China moved the Haiyang Shiyou 981 rig to Lingshui, Hainan.

Referring to the US's announcement of plans to send ships and planes near the area where China is renovating on a large scale in Truong Sa, Mr. Binh said that maintaining peace, stability, security and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea is a common interest and aspiration of countries in and outside the region.

"We hope that 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 not take actions that further complicate the situation. All activities of relevant parties must comply with international law, respect the sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of countries in the East Sea, and strictly comply with the Declaration of the Parties DOC," the spokesperson said.

The USS Fort Worth completed a patrol in international waters and airspace in the South China Sea yesterday, including its first close approach to reefs in the Spratly Islands that China is illegally building. The event came after an unnamed US official said the US military was considering a proposal to send aircraft and naval ships within about 22 km (12 nautical miles) of reefs that China has built in the Spratly Islands.

In response to AP's 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, Son Ca Island by 21,000 square meters, and built military structures, Mr. Le Hai Binh emphasized that these activities of Vietnam are completely legal.

"The activities are aimed at improving Vietnam's old facilities on the islands in Truong Sa to serve the minimum living needs of people on the structures that Vietnam is actually managing. This is a normal activity, in accordance with the DOC Declaration, does not change the status quo, does not harm the environment and does not further complicate the situation in the East Sea," said Mr. Binh.

Regarding the fact that China is promoting the expansion of 7 reefs in Truong Sa, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated that Vietnam has indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos. Vietnam resolutely opposes actions that violate Vietnam's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the East Sea. Vietnam requests relevant parties to exercise restraint, not to take actions that change the status quo, threaten peace, stability, freedom of navigation and aviation in the region, and to fully comply with the DOC and relevant provisions of international law, especially UNCLOS.

The spokesman added today that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese authorities are searching for 16 Vietnamese fishermen on Ly Son Island who are believed to have gone missing on Gaven Reef after taking shelter from the storm.

According to VNE