(MOFA) - Answering reporters’ question on Vietnam's reaction on the activities of China’s Haiyang Shiyou (HYSY) 981 oil rig in the area outside the mouth of Gulf of Tonkin, on 19 January 2016, MOFA Spokesperson Le Hai Binh said:

“According to relevant Vietnamese authorities, in the evening of 16 January 2016, HYSY 981 oil rig moved to a position about 21.4 nautical miles to the east of the assumed median line (between the two baselines of Viet Nam and China). On 18 January 2016, a representative of MOFA met with a representative of the Chinese Embassy in Ha Noi to  cite Viet Nam’s concern over the above-mentioned move by China. The area into which HYSY 981 oil rig moved is an overlapping area between the two continental shelves of Central Viet Nam and China’s Hainan Island. This area has not yet been delimited. Viet Nam requests China not to conduct drilling activities and to withdraw the HYSY 981 oil rig from this area. Viet Nam reserves all of its legal rights and interests in the area in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, and relevant international practices.”