Britain, France and perhaps even Germany poised to play bigger roles in checking China's rising naval ambitions
The Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations presents its compliments to the Secretariat of the United Nations and has the honour to refer to views expressed by the People’s Republic of China regarding its maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Vietnam on Thursday reaffirmed its sovereignty after the U.S. Embassy removed from its Facebook page an accurate Vietnamese map including its East Sea archipelagos.
The “blue checkmark” Facebook page U.S Embassy in Hanoi, an official account of the US Embassy to Vietnam has posted an article looking at the United States – Vietnam partnership during the last 25 years, in which the map of Vietnam has fully depicted with Paracel (Hoang Sa) and Spratly (Truong Sa) Islands in the South China Sea or Bien Dong Sea.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Chinese State Counsellor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on August 23 co-chaired a ceremony to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-China Land Border Treaty at Mong Cai International Border Gate in the northern province of Quang Ninh.
China’s deployment of weapons and fighter aircraft to Hoang Sa not only is a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty but also further exacerbates the situation in the East Sea.
Vietnam Thursday dismissed Chinese claims of East Sea activities dating back 2,000 years plus and called for all countries to respect international law.
The pathway to settle the ongoing sovereignty disputes in the East Sea, also known as the South China Sea, requires the close co-operation of concerned parties in order to press China into stopping their illegal activities in the sea, a leading security expert from the Unites States has suggested.
The EU is committed to the legal order for the seas and oceans based upon international law, maritime security and cooperation, as well as the freedom of navigation and overflight, in the interest of all states, EU Ambassador to ASEAN Igor Driesmans told a Vietnam News Agency reporter in Jakarta on Saturday.
China's recent actions in the East Sea, known internationally as the South China Sea, have served to further complicate the regional situation and has contributed to increasing tensions.
Vietnam has followed with keen interest the developments in the East Sea following news that a group of Chinese vessels had entered Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the waters, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang
