Foreign Ministry fields questions on sovereignty issues

Answering the question about incidents on the Vietnamese and Cambodian border, Le Hai Binh said that Vietnamese and Cambodian agencies have co-ordinated to control the situation and not let border issues affect bilateral relations. Regarding a large scale Chinese naval live-drill over July 22-31 in the east and south-eastern waters of China’s Hainan Island and waters in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa Archipelago, Binh said the action was a gross violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty and was contrary to the understanding between the leaders of both countries, hampering the development of bilateral ties, threatening maritime security and freedom of navigation.

Binh also answered questions related to scores of Vietnamese women being denied visas to Singapore. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked Vietnam’s diplomatic staff in Singapore to verify the reasons behind the blocks on visas for large numbers of Vietnamese women visiting the city state and look at how the legal rights of Vietnamese citizens are being protected as according to the bilateral agreement between Vietnam and Singapore as well as among ASEAN countries.