Exactly 10 years ago, while attending the 50th Conference to commemorate the victory of Dien Bien Phu and the Geneva Conference in Peking University (China), in the closing session, I heard one Chinese scholar’s statement saying that in today's international relations using force and violence is intolerable because it is the behavior of the barbaric era.

The speech belonged to Professor Van Trang - a former member of the Chinese mentor group helping Vietnam against the French colonialists. He has lived for many years in North Vietnam and written about Uncle Ho with respect. I was so touched while listening to his speech.

Earlier this May, I remembered this story especially when the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation moved its Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil platform to waters near the Paracel Islands of Vietnam with escort of armed ships and aircrafts for exploration and exploitation of oil and gas.

At the same time, the Chinese coast ships escorted aircraft and threatened Vietnam's marine police on duty in waters under Vietnam’s sovereignty. Vietnam has sufficient legal grounds and historical evidence to confirm Paracel Islands belong to Vietnam.

For so many years, China has always regarded islands within its groundlessly claimed nine-dotted line as its territory, and the waters surrounding the islands as its territorial waters. That has violated international law and international practice. In today's era of civilization, such behavior would be detected easily by common sense and human intelligence.

This action was also contrary to the policy of friendship initiated by the Chinese as “friendly neighborliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability, future-oriented” or “good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners” on the basis of adjacent borders, common ideology, similar cultures and correlative destiny.

Such a distance between words and deeds - a pity! As I said, this started in May when Chinese vessels and a fighter jet chasing, intimidating, and firing water cannons at Vietnamese ships around Beijing’s oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 illegally placed in Vietnamese waters in the East Vietnam Sea. The term “China” , “981 HD rig”, “Vietnam”, “1982 UNCLOS”, “The sea has sovereign rights, jurisdiction, privileges economy" , “water cannons” , “shipwrecks” ; “Peace talks” , “press conference” ... are heard daily on the mass media worldwide.

Yet in a telephone conversation with the Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs, the head of the Ministry of China's Foreign Affairs said “Vietnam should not intervene in the activities of Chinese companies in Paracel Islands”.

He also blatantly misrepresented that Vietnam "seriously violated China's sovereignty when interfering in the normal operation of Chinese companies" in the Paracels and that is "a territory of China and not in dispute”.

The contrast between the words and actions of China is forming a skeptical view within Vietnamese and Chinese people on the feasibility and veracity of the motto of building friendly relations between China and other countries in region and the world.

Let’s us listen to the view of scholar Ly Lenh Hoa, a former member of the Center for China Marine News, who had asserted that China has no single basis for determining "U-shaped line" as the line of national borders.

He said on his blog (163.com) that being one of the countries that have signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982, China should adhere to articles 74 and 83 of this Convention by showing respect to the policy of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles of coastal water around.

These recent days, Vietnam public opinion, China public opinion and the international community strongly oppose the Chinese invasion of Vietnam's sovereignty and demand that China move its oil rig and escort vessels from Vietnamese waters in the East Sea immediately. It is necessary to respect international law, in accordance with the human conscience.

Measurement of today's civilization is to voluntarily comply with the law and international practice, self-esteem to strive for cooperation, friendship and development. Based on the basis of international law which together with peaceful dialogue to resolve disputes and conflict is behavior that civilized humanity as well as any nation makes a priority.

On the basis of “interconnectivity, interoperability, resemblance, correlation” we expect China to turn the spirit of these four golden words to become a reality. That would definitely contribute to a civilized, equal and mutually respectful environment for international relations, not only regional but also worldwide. The era of civilization requires civilized behaviors and a duty to enrich the value of human civilization.

In the long history of our country, people have had to go through 17 wars, so more than ever we highly value peace. In this relationship with China, the desire for peace is what we are looking for. However, China please do not engage in provocative activities to escalate conflict.

It’s a huge mistake! We, as an independent, sovereign nation, are tough enough to share our wisdom and will to bilaterally negotiate in the spirit of humanity and humanitarianism as well as our forebears’ principles of holding our territory.  

For today is no longer a savage era. Vietnam determinedly demands that China move the drilling rig and escort vessels out of Vietnamese waters. China must obey international law and peace aspiration of the two countries.

Prof. Dr. Phạm Xuân Hằng

VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi