(VOVworld) -  Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman has told the press about Vietnam’s response to recent Chinese Foreign Ministry announcement that China’s construction activities on the islands and reefs in the East Sea fall within the scope of China's sovereignty, which are "lawful, reasonable and justified."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the land reclamation project of China's construction on some stationed islands and reefs of the Spratly islands, as planned, will be completed in the upcoming days.
Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh rejects the announcement: “China’s large scale construction and reclamation of islands and reefs in Spratly archipelago are illegal and cannot change the fact that Vietnam has sufficient legal ground and historical evidence confirming its national sovereignty over Spratly archipelago. Vietnam asks China to immediately stop these activities, while respecting Vietnam’s sovereignty over Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel), complying with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on Conducts of Parties in the East Sea, not complicating the situation nor changing the status quo.” 

The spokesman said China coast guard announced its arrest of 17 Vietnamese fishermen and 2 fishing vessels on June 19. However, all 17 fishermen and one fishing vessel have safely returned to Vietnam. The Vietnamese Embassy in China is asking Chinese side to return the remaining fishing vessel unconditionally. The spokesman announced that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will participate in the 7th Mekong Japan Summit in Tokyo from July 2 to 4.