News
PM backs Vietnam in dispute with China; EAM clarifies position
View(s):Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne now on an official visit to Vietnam has hit out at China prompting the External Affairs Ministry in Colombo to clarify matters.
He was in Hanoi to participate in the UN Vesak Day celebrations. Vietnam’s official news agency VNS (Vietnam News Service) said premier Jayaratne and his counterpart, Nguyen Tan Dung, discussed Hanoi’s issue on the East Sea.
He was quoted as saying that on the issue of China’s placement of its oil rig in Vietnam’s waters Sri Lanka supported Vietnam’s request for China to strictly adhere to international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of parties in the East Sea. Premier Jayaratne was also quoted as saying China should withdraw its illegal oil rig from Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf to ensure peace and stability in the region.
In Colombo, the External Affairs Ministry, without making a reference to Premier Jayaratne, in a statement said: “The attention of the Ministry of External Affairs has been drawn to comments in the international media on Sri Lanka’s position regarding the disputed South China Sea. It is reiterated that the disputes concerning the South China Sea need to be settled bilaterally through negotiations by the concerned parties. This has been Sri Lanka’s consistent position on the said issue.”