Last, the drilling of the CNOOC oil rig is by no means within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone or on its continental shelf, as claimed by Hanoi. Undeniably, as a coastal nation, Vietnam can also make its claims on its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. As two neighboring coastal countries, there do exist some overlapping claims between China and Vietnam in terms of their EEZ and continental shelf. As early as in December 2000, China and Vietnam signed an agreement on the delimitation of their EEZ and continental in the Beibu Gulf waters, an accord that only confirmed the delimitation of the Gulf while leaving bilateral delimitation in other waters unresolved. However, the drilling site of the CNOOC oil rig is only 17 nautical miles away from China's Zhongjian Island, but 150 nautical miles from the coastline of Vietnam, a fact that decides that the site is indisputably inside China's territorial waters no matter how the waters of both countries will be delimitated. Such an iron-clad fact is enough to testify that Vietnam's claim that the drilling of the Chinese oil rig is inside its EEZ and continental shelf is completely groundless.

Facts prove that the drilling of the CNOOC oil rig in the waters off China's Xisha Islands is a legitimate activity the country is empowered to conduct in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Just as Hua Chunying, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a recent press briefing, the drilling of the CNOOC oil rig is conducted completely in the waters off China's Xisha islands. The provocative actions taken by Vietnam, such as sending ships to ram into China's vessels at the site, not only violate the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but also infringe on China's sovereignty and jurisdiction as well as its relevant domestic laws.

Vietnam should immediately stop any interruptive activities and undertake corresponding consequences and international responsibilities for its provocations.

The author is a law professor with Wuhan University.