Vietnam welcomes constructive contributions to East Sea peace

Vietnam welcomes and supports any constructive, positive and responsible contribution by countries within and outside the region for peace and stability in the East Sea, Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Le Hai Binh told a regular press conference in Hanoi on June 11.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Le Hai Binh (Photo: VNA)

He said the current situation in the East Sea is cause for deep concern among the international community and explicitly unbeneficial to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region as well as in the East Sea.

His statement was in response to reporters’ reference to the recent issuance of a declaration by the G7 that protests China’s land reclamation in the East Sea and any act of threat, coercion, use of force and unilateral move to change the status quo on a large scale.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei later described the declaration as being far short of the facts, saying Chinese actions fall within its sovereignty.

Asked about Vietnam’s position on a Chinese oil and gas exploration ship’s travel into Vietnam’s territorial waters on June 6, which then sailed through areas where Vietnam’s oil drilling rigs are operating before heading to the Gulf of Thailand, Binh said Vietnamese law enforcement units had closely monitored its movement.

Following necessary measures, the ship sailed out of Vietnam’s waters on June 8, he said.

Regarding the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak that has been worrying the international community and Vietnamese nationals, the Spokeperson assured that Vietnam has not recorded any cases of MERS-CoV.

Vietnamese authorities are putting measures in place to fight the epidemic at borders, including designing plans and issuing detailed MERS prevention and control guidelines to localities.

The Ministry of Public Health also urged citizens to actively protect themselves from the virus, he said.

For Vietnamese planning to travel to or living in affected areas, including the Republic of Korea (RoK), Binh said the Foreign Ministry and representative Vietnamese agencies abroad have issued travel warnings and asked for all possible precautions.

Together with the RoK, they are closely watching the situation and are ready to take necessary steps in case of emergency, he said.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)