US Congresswoman: ASEAN can build framework to solve territorial disputes

A US congresswoman has expressed her hope that ASEAN can build a framework to effectively resolve and end the needless disputes of sea claims and territories.

In her statement issued on May 21, Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo said she remains deeply concerned by the aggressive actions of the state-owned Chinese enterprise in the East Sea.

A Chinese ship bullying Vietnamese ship in the East Sea.

“These actions destabilise the region and undermine efforts to maintain peace in the region,” she stressed, adding that they further highlight the continued need for the US to move forward with its strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region.

The congresswoman urged all sides to come back to the table to resolve this matter once and for all.

Bordallo has been the first female representative of Guam Island in the US House of Representatives since 2003. She is one of the congresspersons who have proposed or co-sponsored the house’s East Sea-related resolutions.

On May 2, China stationed the Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil rig at 15 degrees 29 minutes 58 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 12 minutes 06 seconds east longitude. The location is 80 nautical miles deep inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and 119 nautical miles to Vietnam’s Ly Son Island.

Chinese ships have repeatedly rammed and fired water cannons into Vietnamese coast guard and fisheries surveillance ships which are carrying out their law enforcement missions in the country’s waters, leaving many Vietnamese ships damaged and many fisheries surveillance officers injured.