Oslo seminar sheds light on East Sea tensions
(VOV) - Escalating tensions in the East Sea and their impact on regional security were the centrepiece of a seminar held in Oslo, Norway, on June 24 by the Vietnamese embassy and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI).
Hoang Anh Tuan, director of the Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies (IFPSS) under the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, noted that Vietnam has sufficient historical evidence and legal foundations to assert its undisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.
Notably, he said, Vietnam had administratively managed and not been engaged in any disputes about the Paracel archipelago until China used force to control the group of islands in 1974.
China’s placement of its drilling rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 deep inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone is completely illegal, and its nine-dash line claim in the East Sea is groundless, running counter to the 1982 UN Convention n the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
China’s deliberate use of force attempting to control the area within its nine-dash line is the root cause of tensions in the East Sea, Tuan said.
He asked Norwegian scholars and the international community to voice their opposition and ask China to fully observe international law, and stop unilateral actions detrimental to peace, security and stability in the region.
NUPI communications director Dr Asmund Weltzien, NUPI scholars and Filipino ambassador to Norway Bayani S. Mercado said the seminar helped them understand more the territorial dispute in the East Sea, as well as threats to regional security and stability.
They expressed concern about China’s unilateral and aggressive actions, and stressed that only peaceful negotiations on the basis of mutual respect and international law bring everlasting peace and stability for East Asia.