Students both at home and abroad on May 15 continued raising their voice against China’s illegal act of placing the Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig in Viet Nam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

A number of Vietnamese students in Thailand’s capital Bangkok peacefully demonstrated in front of the Chinese Embassy in the country and sent it a letter in which they opposed China’s illegal installation of the rig and asked the Chinese authorities to immediately stop all aggressive acts and withdraw the rig from Viet Nam’s exclusive economic zone.

The letter, which gathered hundreds of signatures, stated that the rig placement is ruining the two countries’ trust, causing tensions and threatening stability in the East Sea and the region.

On the day, the Vietnamese Students’ Association in Canberra, Australia also issued a statement protesting China’s illegal acts of bringing the drilling rig and over 80 armed ships to Viet Nam’s exclusive economic zone, as well as ramming and firing water cannons into Viet Nam’s law enforcement vessels.

The statement claimed that China’s acts seriously infringe the United Nations Charter, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, running counter to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea as well as the agreements on sea-related issues signed by the two sides’ high-level leaders.

The association also showed their backing for the Vietnamese Government’s strong determination to solve disputes by peaceful means while taking every proper measure to safeguard the country’s legitimate rights and interests.

It called on all peace-lovers in China and all over the world to voice objections to China’s illegal and dangerous acts and support for efforts towards a peaceful, stable and cooperative East Sea.

Meanwhile, a number of meetings were organised across Viet Nam the same day to show the determination of students and the youth in general to safeguard the country’s sacred sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes and oppose Chine’s act of deploying the rig in Vietnam’s waters.

During the meeting, more than 400 million VND (18,800 USD) was raised to support officers defending national sovereignty.

(Source: VNA)