New Delhi, July 11
Notwithstanding growing Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, Vietnam today made it clear that India has every right to carry on with ‘exploration and exploitation’ work it was undertaking in the blocks allotted to it by Hanoi in the disputed sea.

“Our position is that we need to respect the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to resolve any issue arising in the South China Sea,” Vietnam Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said at a press conference with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid after the two co-chaired the 15th meeting of the joint commission between their two countries.

The Indian-born Vietnamese minister said both New Delhi and Hanoi shared the view that all the countries bordering the South and East China Sea have rights to their exclusive economic areas. India was fully entitled to pursue ‘exploration and exploitation work’ in the exclusive economic zone of Vietnam, he added.

Khurshid emphasised that India’s activity in the South China Sea was purely commercial in nature and it had been undertaken at the instance of Vietnam. He was of the view that any contentious issue in this regard be settled through peaceful talks.

Both India and Vietnam, which have boundary disputes with China, remain in regular touch with each other.

While India has a long-pending territorial dispute with Beijing, there have been tensions between Vietnam and China over differing maritime claims in the South China Sea. China has gone to the extent of warning India to halt its exploration activity in the disputed sea.

• Vietnam Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said both New Delhi and Hanoi shared the view that all the countries bordering the South and East China Sea have rights to their exclusive economic areas
• India was fully entitled to pursue ‘exploration and exploitation work’ in the exclusive economic zone of Vietnam, he added