The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) has voiced vehement protest against the China National Offshore Oil Corporation(CNOOC) for violating Vietnam’s sovereign right and jurisdiction.
In a communiqué, PetroVietnam said on May 2, the CNOOC brought its drilling rig HYSY-981 to a location at 15 degree 29 minutes 58seconds north latitude and 111 degree 12 minutes 06 seconds east longitude. The location is entirely within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, about 120 nautical miles from its coast under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. On May 4, PetroVietnam sent a letter to CNOOC Chairman and General Manager demanding that the company immediately stop its illegal acts and pull the drilling rig out of Vietnam’s waters. The action has run counter to the cooperative spirit of the two national oil and gas groups and is not in line with international oil exploitation practices as well as the motto of friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and China, PetroVietnam said. The Vietnamese side also requested that CNOOC not make similar acts in the future. The same day, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh also raised protest against CNOOC’s act and made it clear that any activity conducted by foreign countries in Vietnam’s waters without permission is illegal and void.-VNA
