The yearning for peace is the essence of human existence.

Exactly 10 years ago, when I attendedSeminar commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory and the Geneva Conference.At Peking University (China), during the closing session, I heard a Chinese scholar say:In today's international relations, we cannot treat each other with force, because that is the behavior of a barbaric era."The speaker was Professor Văn Trang, a former member of the Chinese advisory delegation to Vietnam during the resistance against French colonialism. He lived in Việt Bắc for many years and wrote books about President Ho Chi Minh with deep respect and affection. Co-chairing the closing session with him, I was deeply moved, because it was the voice of a personality who valued peace, possessed great compassion, self-respect, and embodied a humane cultural identity.

This early May, I recalled my experience in Beijing ten years ago, especially when I heard that China had brazenly deployed a deep-sea drilling rig, escorted by numerous ships, including armed vessels and aircraft, to Vietnam's sovereign waters to explore and exploit oil and gas. Simultaneously, Chinese vessels, escorted by aircraft, threatened Vietnamese coast guard ships on duty in waters under Vietnam's sovereignty. Vietnam possesses sufficient legal and historical evidence to assert that the Paracel Islands belong to Vietnam. Vietnam has all the necessary national and international legal documents to substantiate this undeniable fact.

For many years, China has clung to its baseless nine-dash line to make numerous outrageous statements and take aggressive actions to serve its own agendas. This violates international law and norms. In today's civilized era, such international conduct will be easily detected and rejected by human conscience and intellect. This is from the perspective of a country's "self-rule" in the modern international relations environment.

That action also goes against the friendly policies proposed by China, such as:Friendly neighborliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability, and a forward-looking approach." or "LGood neighbors, good friends, good comrades, good partners”on the platformMountains and rivers are interconnected, ideals are shared, cultures are similar, and destinies are intertwined..

Thus, a gap has emerged between words and actions. What a pity!

Vietnamese fishing boats flying the national flag are ready to sail out to the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands/Photo: VOV

As mentioned, in early May, China again deployed dozens of vessels of various types, including armed ships escorted by aircraft, to transport the Haiyang Shiyou-981 deep-sea drilling rig to Vietnam's waters (a sea area over which Vietnam has sovereignty in accordance with the 1982 UNCLOS Convention). Images of threatening aircraft and Chinese vessels using water cannons and ramming Vietnamese police ships have appeared repeatedly not only on Vietnamese television but also on television in many countries. Terms such as "China," "HD 981 drilling rig," "Vietnam," "UNCLOS 1982," "sovereign waters, jurisdiction, and exclusive economic zone," "water cannons," "ship ramming," "peace negotiations," and "press conferences" are frequently mentioned in global media.

Yet, during a phone call with the Vietnamese Foreign Minister, the head of China's foreign affairs brazenly "called on Vietnam not to interfere with the activities of Chinese companies in the Xisha Islands" (i.e., Vietnam's Hoang Sa Islands). The head of China's foreign affairs even blatantly distorted the truth, claiming that Vietnam "seriously violated China's sovereignty by interfering with the normal operations of Chinese companies" in the Hoang Sa Islands, and asserted that these islands are "part of Chinese territory and are not disputed."

Fishermen in Central Vietnam remain steadfast in their traditional fishing grounds. Teams work together to fish in Vietnamese waters. (Photo: VOV)

The discrepancy between China's words and actions is causing both Vietnamese and Chinese people to doubt the feasibility and authenticity of the principles for building friendly relations between China and countries in the region and the world. Please listen to the perspective of scholar Li Linghua, a former member of the China Ocean News Center, who has asserted that China has no basis whatsoever to define the "nine-dash line" as its national border. He made this statement on his personal blog (page...).163.comat 9:37 PM on May 6th, that,lAs one of the signatories to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), China should abide by Articles 74 and 83 of this convention and respect the continental shelf and 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone claims of its surrounding coastal states.That is the perspective of a knowledgeable person, a person with self-respect.

In recent days, public opinion in Vietnam, China, and the international community has strongly condemned China's encroachment on Vietnam's sovereignty. All demand that China immediately remove the Haiyang Shiyou-981 deep-sea drilling rig and all vessels from Vietnam's sovereign waters and cease all illegal actions. This is a necessary action, respecting international law and in line with human conscience.

The Vietnam Coast Guard always stands side-by-side with fishermen. (Photo: VOV)

Today's measure of civility lies in the conscious adherence to international law and norms, and in the self-respect to genuinely strive for cooperation, friendship, and development. Resolving disputes and conflicts peacefully through dialogue based on international law is a civilized approach that humanity, as well as any nation, should prioritize.

On the platform “interconnectedness, mutual understanding, similarity, correlationWe all hope that China will sincerely work with us to turn the spirit of the 16-character motto and the spirit of the four "goods" into reality. This will not only create a civilized, equal, and mutually respectful international environment for the people of the region and the world. A civilized era demands civilized behavior towards each other in the truest sense of the word, and we must all share the responsibility to enrich the values ​​of human civilization. China's blatant act of placing an oil rig in Vietnamese waters is neither civilized behavior nor the quality of a gentleman.

Throughout its long history, the Vietnamese people have endured 17 wars against foreign invaders, thus understanding the value of peace. In this context, the aspiration for peace is the very essence of the Vietnamese nation, and generations have spared no effort, even bloodshed, to preserve it. Let no one rashly engage in provocative actions to incite conflict and create a pretext for overwhelming the other with brute force. That would be a grave mistake! This nation possesses the wisdom to share and engage in dialogue in a humane, humanistic, and compassionate spirit. This nation possesses the wisdom to share and engage in dialogue in a humane, humanistic, and compassionate spirit, and as an independent and sovereign nation, with the principles our ancestors affirmed thousands of years ago:The mountains and rivers of the Southern Kingdom belong to the Southern Emperor."And when the country is invaded, the whole nation unites to..."Let history know that the heroes of the Southern nation have a true leader.".

Therefore, Vietnam resolutely demands that China immediately withdraw the oil rig from the waters under Vietnam's sovereignty, and that China respect international law and the aspirations for peace of both nations as well as of humanity.