Chinese surveillance vessels patrol near Tonkin Gulf
(VOV) - Chinese surveillance vessels conducted 58 East Sea patrols in 2012, according to the State Oceanic Administration of China (SOA).
It said two surveillance vessels No 75 and 84 accompanied with B-3843 reconnaissance plane patrolled territorial waters near the Tonkin Gulf in the East Sea where there are many offshore oil rigs.
Quoting the SOA, China’s Xinhua News Agency did not identify areas the vessels moved into or whether the plane flew over the airspace of Vietnam or not.
On December 11, the Head of the Permanent Representative Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), Le Hoai Trung, delivered an important speech at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly on Seas and Oceans marking the 30th anniversary of the signing of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Vietnam, a country with its coastline stretching 3,260 km, always shows its keen interest in maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea, ensuring maritime security and promoting prosperity, friendship and cooperation in line with international law, particularly the UNCLOS.
Vietnam called on signatory countries and other nations to support the implementation of the ASEAN-China Statement on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and the 2012 Declaration on Six Principles on the East Sea adopted by the ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting.
The country is ready to accelerate the signing of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) aiming to promote peace, stability and cooperation in the region, Trung said.