She was responding to questions about Vietnam’s actions upon Chinese oil survey vessel Haiyang Dizhi 8 and escorts returning to Vietnamese waters near the Vanguard Bank in the East Sea: "Vietnam has made contact multiple times and requested that China ends its violation and withdraws all its ships from Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone, and not engage in behavior that mounts tensions, complicates the situation and threatens security and peace in the East Sea and the region. Vietnam’s authorities continue to protect Vietnam’s sovereignty and jurisdiction in accordance with international law. With the resolve to protect its legal rights, Vietnam is ready to resolve disputes through peaceful means in line with international law".

The spokeswoman said that Vietnam wants concerned countries to contribute to the maintenance of peace and security at sea and in the air space in accordance with international law, especially in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. She responded to reporters’ question about Vietnam’s response to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang’s recent statement that the vessels were in Chinese waters: “Vietnam has sufficient legal grounds and historical evidence confirming its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos in line with international law. Regarding violation of survey vessel Haiyang Dizhi 8 and escorts we have several times made clear that the vessels violated the area which is completely in Vietnamese waters defined by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

Regarding the ASEAN – US joint maritime drill in the Gulf of Thailand from Sep 2 to 6 as agreed by ASEAN and US Defense Ministers last year, the spokeswoman confirmed that Vietnam will participate as an ASEAN member.