(VOVworld) – 35 French associations have issued a joint statement on the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the lawsuit between the Philippines and China over Chinese claims in the East Sea in 120 letters and e-mails to the European Commission, French members of parliament and representatives, and embassies in France.

The proceedings at the headquarters of the PCA (Photo: PCA)

Organizations of the Vietnamese community and friendship associations in France strongly opposed China’s claims in the East Sea, saying they are contrary to international law, as well as China’s illegal construction activities in Vietnam’s sovereign waters. The associations called on related parties and the international community to act to assure compliance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Code of Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea. They said that the disputes in the East Sea needed to be resolved in a peaceful manner, not using threats and violence.