A symposium on the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) as a tool to address disputes in the East Sea was held in Kuala Lumpur on January 13.

The 7th diplomatic – defence strategic dialogue between Vietnam and Australia, an annual activity since 2012, took place in Canberra on December 10.

India feels that maritime links through the East Sea are critical to peace, stability, prosperity and development of the Indo-Pacific region due to which it is vital to ensure freedom of navigation.

Vietnam rejects all the contents regarding Vietnam of the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson's statement on sovereignty over Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago on November 8.

It is necessary to maintain and respect international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in the settlement of disputes in the East Sea, Swiss lawyer Pierre Schifferli has said.

Russia's "Multipolar world" newspaper has run an article saying many countries, including partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), support Vietnam's viewpoint in addressing the East Sea issues.

Nearly 200 photos of aerial views of Vietnam coastline and island by photographer Gian Thanh Son have been exhibited at the Youth Culture in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang on October 25 once again stressed Vietnam’s request for relevant parties not to repeat violations of the country’s waters while answering reporters’ question regarding a group of Chinese ships’ withdrawal from Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

China’s deployment of survey vessel group Haiyang Dizhi-8 to Tu Chinh reef (Vanguard Bank) in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) has violated international law, Associate Prof. Ryan Martinson of the US Naval War College said in an article recently published on the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s m.newsprime.co.kr website.

Vietnam is joining 22 countries and territories at a conference on international law development in Asia held in Indonesia from October 14 to 18.

Once again, Vietnam demands China to immediately stop its violations, withdraw its survey vessel group Haiyang Dizhi 8 from Vietnam's territorial waters and not to repeat similar actions, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said.

Vietnam resolutely opposes Chinese survey vessel group Haiyang Dizhi 8's continued serious violations of Vietnam's sovereignty right and jurisdiction in territorial waters as defined in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang has said.