(VOVworld) - Staff of Garment Company No 10 has held a flag hoisting ceremony and a meeting to show their patriotism and protest against China’s illegal placement of an oil rig in Vietnam’s waters. More than 10,000 workers have donated one day of salary to support those on duty to protect national sea and island sovereignty. The company CEO, Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, was speaking at the event in Hanoi on Thursday: “Our contribution is a practical activity to support fishermen work at sea. Donations should be repeated in cash and in kind as we are a resolute backup at home for those on duty at sea.”

More than 1,500 teachers and students gathered in Ha Long primary school in Vung Tau City on Thursday to launch a campaign gathering support to protect Spratly and Paracel archipelagoes.

In a statement released on Thursday, former volunteer youths and former soldiers serving along Truong Son and Ho Chi Minh trail strongly demanded China to withdraw its oil rig, armed and military vessels out of Vietnam’s special economic zone and continental shelf. Similar message of protest and call for negotiation to resolve the dispute peacefully was issued by the Vietnam ASEAN Friendship Association and Vietnam Writers’ Association.

The Vietnamese community in Malaysia has vowed to join the home country under the leadership of the Party and State to protect national sea and island sovereignty.

An expert on East Asia, Dr Gerhard Will, told the Deutches Welle on Wednesday that he was surprised to hear about China’s oil rig deployment because regional experts had confirmed no major oil reserve in the area and China’s move was politically motivated. He said this is a serious step back from efforts to defuse tension in the East Sea and implement the ASEAN China’s Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).

Rector of International Research School in Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, Malcolm Cook, said the oil rig deployment shows China’s ill-intention approach in its commitments towards the DOC.