Hanoi (VNA) - Many countries in the world have showed serious concernsover China’s recent deployment of over 200 ships around Sinh Ton island clusterin Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago and requested the country toimmediately bring these vessels out of the area and end all provocations.

In a regular press conference, the Vietnamese ForeignMinistry’s Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said that the operation of the Chineseships within the territorial waters of Sinh Ton Dong island in the Truong Saarchipelago has violated Vietnam’s sovereignty and the 1982 UN Convention onthe Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)’s regulations on the operation of foreign vesselsin the territorial waters of coastal nations, run counter to the spirit andcontent of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), andcomplicated the situation which is unfavourable for the process of negotiationsbetween ASEAN and China on a Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC).

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in adiplomatic protest that the swarming and threatening presence of the Chineseships creates an atmosphere of instability and shows that China is ignoring itscommitments to promoting peace and stability in the region.

At a reception for Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudiand Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto on March 30, Japanese Prime MinisterYoshihide Suga voiced his concern over China’s activities in the waters,including the enforcement of its Coast Guard Law which allows patrol ships touse weapons. Both sides spoke highly of the importance of maintaining free andopen navigation based on international law.

Meanwhile, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines KoshikawaKazuhiko tweeted that the South China Sea (called the East Sea in Vietnam)issues are directly related to peace and stability and a concern for allparties.

“Japan strongly opposes any action that heightens tensions.We support the enforcement of the Rule of Law in the sea and work with theinternational community to protect the free, open, and peaceful seas,” hestressed on his Twitter account.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Steven Robinsontweeted that “Australia supports an Indo-Pacific region which is secure openand inclusive. The South China Sea – a crucial international waterway – isgoverned by international rules and norms, particularly UNCLOS. We remainconcerned about destabilising actions that could provoke escalation”.
Responding to China’s statement that the vessels operatingaround the Sinh Ton island cluster are fishing ships and they were just takingshelter from rough seas, Jay Batongbacal, Director of the University of thePhilippines’s Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said that areconnaissance flight by the Philippine Air Force showed that around 200vessels have been there for weeks.

“Satellite photos also show that the decks of these vesselsare very, very clean. It's as if they're brand new,” he said, adding that “Onebig worry, of course, is that they might be preparing to occupy the reef inorder to construct another artificial island”.

Gregory B. Poling, who is Director of the Asia MaritimeTransparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies,said that China’s acts are “suspicious” as the boats, tied up “with militaryprecision” beside each other, “are not fishing,” they're parked.

Collin Koh, a Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School ofInternational Studies under Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University,stated that China’s activities are escalating tensions in the East Sea.

It can be said that China’s recent activities in the EastSea have continued challenging international law and violating the sovereigntyand sovereign rights of other countries.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in TheHague issued a ruling rejecting all China’s illegal sovereignty claims in theEast Sea./.