VietNamNet Bridge
– In the morning of June 9, a Chinese fishing boat accompanied by two fishery
administration vessels cut cables of a Vietnamese oil exploration ship which
was making a seismic survey within Vietnam’s continental shelf.

Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga

The ship, named Viking II, owned by the Vietnam Oil and Gas
Group (PetroVietnam) had its cables cut at 6am (Hanoi time), June 9 at
6o47’5”N, 109o17’5”E, which lies totally within Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf, said the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s
spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga at a press conference in Hanoi the same day.

The Viking II ship

Nga said that the three Chinese ships cruised over the
Viking II’s prow and sped up when the Vietnamese ship was conducting seismic
surveys. Though the Vietnamese ship fired warning signals, the Chinese ship
numbered 6226 intentionally entered Vietnamese exploration area. Viking II’s
cables then became tangled in the specialized cable-cutting equipment belonging
to the Chinese 6226 ship. This hindered Viking II’s operations.

After that, two Chinese fishery administration vessels
numbered 311 and 303 arrived on the scene, together with some other ships, and
rescued the 6226 vessel.

The green spot is the site where the incident happened

The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson stated that
such actions are deliberate and obviously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty and caused
serious economic damage.

She said that the Chinese ships violated the 1982 United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the acts went against common
conceptions of leaders of both countries in maintaining peace and stability on
the East Sea.

Notably, this incident came just days after three Chinese
patrol vessels entered Vietnam’s
EEZ and continental shelf and cut the cables of PetroVietnam’s Binh Minh 02
ship on May 26.

The actions caused East Sea
disputes to become more strained, Nga stressed.

“China’s
systematic action is aimed at turning the undisputed area into an area under
dispute in order to materialize China’s
nine-dotted line claim in the East
Sea. This is
unacceptable”, she stated.

Vietnam
demands the Chinese side to immediately stop all actions violating Vietnam’s
sovereignty and jurisdiction and compensate for losses, the Vietnamese Foreign
Ministry’s spokesperson stressed.

Also, on the afternoon of June 9, the Vietnamese Foreign
Ministry’s representatives met with Chinese counterparts to protest against the
violation.

“China’s
nine-dotted line” or “U-shaped line” in the East
Sea is completely groundless and runs
counter to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of which China is a
member. The claim has violated the exclusive economic zones and continental
shelves of a number of countries in the region, including Vietnam, and
prompted protests from these countries. China’s attempt to materialize this
claim is in fact increasing tension in the region,” Nga said.

Vietnam
also asked China
to compensate for loses that Chinese ships caused to PetroVietnam.

Nga said that Vietnamese agencies and forces will closely
combine to ensure normal economic activities within Vietnam’s waters.

At the press conference, the Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman
also confirmed that websites of some agencies under the Vietnamese Foreign
Ministry were hacked.

Thuy Chung