Thư gửi đến các quốc gia trong khối ASEAN và Quad Plus

HE Mr. Don PramudwinaiMinister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand

HRH Sultan Hassanal BolkiahMinister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei Darussalam

HE Mr.Prak SokhonnMinistry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, Kingdom of Cambodia

HE Ms.Retno MarsudiMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, Republic of Indonesia

HE Mr. Saleumxay KommasithMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

HE Mr.Hishammuddin HusseinThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia

HE Daw Aung San Suu KyiMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

HE Mr. Teodoro L. Locsin Jr.Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Philippines

HE Mr.Vivian Balakrishnan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Singapore

Your Excellencies,

Over the past decades, China has gradually invaded the South China Sea through acts of bribery, coercion, provocation, aggression, militarization, status change and violations of Freedom of Navigation.

Recently, from April 13 to April 19, 2020, China tookadvantage of the Wuhan pandemic (COVID-19) and attempted to finalize its South China Sea claims by issuing Note Verbale CML/42/2020 to the United Nations. Chinaprovocatively and arbitrarily set up two districts, Nansha and Xisha,in order to legitimize its administrative rule, threaten Vietnam and the other sovereign states in the South China Sea, and get themto abandon the disputed islands. In addition, China plans to launch an Air Defense Identification Area (ADIZ) to control the whole airspace of Southeast Asia and threaten the security of all Southeast Asian nations.

Based on history, geography, and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 (UNCLOS), the Paracel Islands and mostof the Spratly Islands are under the sovereignty of Vietnam.

Although this time the Vietnamese government did speak up, it was merely a feeble formality.

The Vietnamese people have raised their voices to ask for justice and to force China to stop invading Vietnamese territorial waters. The Vietnamese people have spokenout for justice, forcing the Vietnamese communist authorities to transparently claim sovereignty against China in an international court. The overwhelming majority of Vietnam’s 97 million people have expressed their desire to stand with the free world.

Fishermen from Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries cannot make a living because of bullying by China, which has issued a ban on fishing in the territorial waters of Vietnam’s EEZ and those of other Southeast Asian countriesas well as robbingandkillingfishermen and sinking their fishing boats.

The environment and the seabedsthroughout Southeast Asia have been devastated by China in violation of the International Law of the Sea. Chinese invasion and expansion,both on the sea and in the air,threaten the survival of all of Southeast Asiaas well as the peace and security ofthe Indian Pacific region.

Faced with this situation, we, representatives of organizations fighting for human rights, democracy and freedom for Vietnam,using social networking sites, are conducting a referendum of the Vietnamese people on one question, “Facedwith China’s invasion in the South China Sea, do you think Vietnam should sue China in international courts?”

As of today, more than half a million Vietnamese have participatedin this referendumand 45 organizations have supported it, with 95% of respondents wanting to sue.

An Eastern proverb says, “The People’s will is God’s will.”Only nationsareeverlasting,and a country’s true ownersare its people. This Open Letter reflects the will of the Vietnamese people, who are forTerritorial Integrity, Respect for Vietnam’s Sovereignty, and Complete Independence from China. We send this Open Letter to you, esteemed leaders of free nations thatrespect peace and justice, hoping to convey the will of the vast majority of the people of Vietnam. We ask that you unanimously and earnestly support the Vietnamese people by urging, promoting,and supportinglitigation against China before the international courts.

In particular, we respectfully send this letter to the member countries of ASEAN so that you can understand and strongly support the will of the Vietnamese people. Hopefully, their aspirations, expressed through the referendum, will assist ASEAN in protecting the rights, security, peace, and development of all the nations ofSoutheast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region in the face of China’s aggression.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely yours,