About 200 expatriates in Cambodia held a meeting on May 16 in the capital Phnom Penh to protest China’s violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty.
Over the past days, the Vietnamese in Cambodia have showed their anger at China’s provocative act while expressing their support for the government’s peaceful approaches to the issue, Chairman of the Vietnamese Cambodian Association Chau Van Chi said at the meeting.
The protesters later issued a statement demanding that China unconditionally and immediately remove its oil rig and surrounding vessels out of Vietnam’s waters, and abide by international law and conventions while affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spatly) archipelagoes.
They also voiced their willingness to join their fellows at home to protect the country.
Meanwhile in France, nearly 2,000 Vietnamese and peace-loving people in the country took to the streets of Paris on May 16 to show their irritation at China’s perverse act.
They marched through Trocadero Square in downtown Paris carrying the Vietnamese flag and banners in Vietnamese, English, French and Chinese that asked for China’s withdrawal of its oil rig from Vietnam’s waters and that it respect of international law.
“We condemn China’s violation of Vietnamese sovereignty as it went against all the agreements it signed. We hope that the international community will support our struggle for justice,” said Le Trung Tinh of the protest organising board.
He added that the Vietnamese abroad always stay united with those at home in the protection of national sovereignty.
Helene Luc, honorary president of the France-Vietnam Friendship Association, who was among French friends taking part in the protest, said she totally opposed China’s invasion of Vietnam’s waters by placing its oil rig deep inside the country’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
She reiterated that the association had issued a statement demanding that China stop its provocative actions in the East Sea and take the oil rig out of Vietnam’s waters.
China joined the 1982 United Convention on the Law of the Sea and signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) with ASEAN member countries, but its current actions are totally contrary to its commitments as well as the policies of peace and co-operation as it agreed to with Vietnam, she underscored.
Meanwhile, Andre Mendras, the first French person to be granted Vietnamese nationality, condemned China’s attacks targeting the Vietnam Coast Guard.
China’s move is not only meant for Vietnam’s sovereignty, but also the freedom of navigation in the East Sea, said Andre Mendras, who is also known as Ho Cuong Quyet by his Vietnamese name.
“As a Vietnamese and a French national, I have to protect international law,” he added.
The same day, the Vietnamese people in localities across France such as Strasbourg, Montpellier and Toulouse also held rallies.
At the same time, the Vietnamese in Mexico voiced objections against China’s illegal act.
Ambassador to Mexico Le Thanh Tung has launched a campaign to support the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance and Coast Guard.
