Experts: China’s acts in East Sea increase regional tensions
Dr. Le Hong Hiep from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore has said China’s recent acts in the East Sea has made the regional situation more tense and uncertain, thus hindering negotiations on a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
Hanoi (VNA) – Dr. Le Hong Hiep from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studiesin Singapore has said China’s recent acts in the East Sea has made the regionalsituation more tense and uncertain, thus hindering negotiations on a Code ofConduct in the East Sea (COC).
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s senior journalist Veeramalla Anjaiah described theChinese coast guard vessel’s recent sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat onHoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago as “unacceptable”.
Additionally, China’s naming of islands, reefs and geographical features in theEast Sea is also a serious violation of the 1982 United Nations Convention onthe Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), he said.
Anjaiah added that China seriously violated international law when claimingsovereignty over more than 80 percent of the East Sea based on the so-called“nine-dash line” which has no legal value.
He stressed that the international community needs to condemn China’s “illegalactions” and “bully behaviours” in the East Sea.
According to him, ASEAN needs to have a common stance on the issue and step upCOC♉ talks./.
China’s announcement of the establishment of the so-called “Xisha district” (Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago) and “Nansha district" (Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago) under “Sansha city” is “a provocation, illegal under international law,” said Professor Carl Thayer from Australia’s University of New South Wales on April 19.
China’s announcement of the establishment of the so-called “Xisha district” (Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago) and “Nansha district” (Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago) within the new “Sansha city” will escalate tensions in the region, a Russian researcher on Vietnamese studies has said.
Spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang on April 21 replied to reporters’ questions about the recent complex situation in some ASEAN countries’ territorial waters.
Following China’s announcement of the establishment of the so-called “Xisha district” (in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago) and “Nansha district” (in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago) within “Sansha city”, international experts have condemned the move, saying it breaks international law.
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Vietnamese fishing boats (Illustrative image - Photo: VNA) 
