US Senator Jim Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with three others, namely Bob Menendez, Cory Gardner and Ed Markey, on April 11 criticised the Chinese Coast Guard’s recent sinking of a Viet Namese fishing boat in Viet Nam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago waters in the East Sea.

Fishing vessels of Viet Nam on East Sea (Illustrative photo: VNA)

Their statement stressed that the incident and China’s other activities on illegally reclaimed features in the East Sea are deeply concerning and undermining regional stability at a time when the international community should be coming together to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

They condemned China’s actions as causing division and tension in the East Sea, and called on the US to work to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific and to promote peaceful activities in the East Sea.

Source: VNA