(VOVworld) - Vietnam Lawyers Association and Ho Chi Minh City Law School have held a workshop on legal aspects relating to China’s placement of the Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig in Vietnam’s waters. 50 scholars and law experts from 12 countries participated at the event on Saturday. They hailed the importance of the East Sea as an important international maritime route.

They said that fostering a stable environment, cooperation and development in the East Sea is an obligation of all nations to ensure maritime security, air and sea navigation freedom as well as international trade. China’s placement of the oilrig required relating parties to cooperate based on international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Rector of Ho Chi Minh City Law School, Mai Hong Quy, spoke at the event: “China’s placement of the Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig in Vietnam’s waters has posed political and legal issues, especial human rights as the legitimate rights of fishermen in the context of China’s treatment. This requires an answer to the interest of all Vietnamese people.”