(VOVworld) – Finanzen.net – one of Germany’s largest financial e-portals on Wednesday reported on an international seminar on Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos which was held in the central city of Da Nang last month.

International participants at the seminar

According to the article, the event attracted about 100 Vietnamese experts, scientists, and journalists from the US, Russia, Australia, Germany, Japan, France, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, and Vietnam. They discussed historical evidence confirming Vietnam's sovereignty over the two archipelagos.

The article says China's illegal placement of its oil rig Haiyang-981 in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf is a violation of agreements on fundamental principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues that Vietnam and China signed in 2011. China’s act is provocative and has jeopardized peace in the East Sea.

The article quoted international experts as saying that in response to China's illegal actions, Vietnam can invoke the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to deal with the current East Sea issues.