The traditional carp release ceremony, a ritual marking the transition from the old year to the new, is an important part of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Vietnam.

Vietnam continues to demonstrate its active participation in the pursuit of world peace by sending eight officers to peacekeeping missions in the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

The musical shows the moving picture of the marines, who always hold their rifles firmly, ready to fulfill the mission of protecting the sacred sea and the islands of the Motherland.

VietNamNet’s Huynh Phan talked with Tran Huy Cong, representative of the Japanese television broadcaster NDN in Vietnam, about his journey to Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in late May.

The Francophone Parliamentary Assembly (APF) has recently adopted a resolution calling on concerned parties to respect international law to ensure peace and security in the East Sea.

The US Senate has adopted a resolution denouncing China’s unilateral actions in the East Sea and demanding a return of the status quo before May 1, 2014.

The US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted the fourth annual seminar on the East Sea in Washington DC on July 10, bringing together leading world scholars from the US, China, India, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations in Ho Chi Minh City (HUFO) on July 10 issued a statement protesting China ’s illegal activities in the East Sea.

The Khmer ethnic minority community in the southern province of Bac Lieu are closely watching the developments in the East Sea as China is illegally placing its oil rig in Vietnam’s waters.

Finanzen.net – one of Germany’s largest financial e-portals on July 9 reported on an international seminar on Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos which was held in the central city of Danang from June 19-21.

Vietnam’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Nguyen Trung Thanh has informed about China’s illegal placement of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam’s waters before the international public attention.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Nguyen Tat Thanh on July 7 wrote an article on the country’s daily Matichon, opposing the wrongful view of Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Ning Fukui on the East Sea published earlier on the same newspaper.

Polish scholars attending a seminar at the Almamer University, Warsaw, affirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos and decried China’s recent acts in Vietnam’s waters.

Japan is highly appreciative of Vietnam`s efforts to peacefully resolve the East Sea dispute with China through diplomacy and dialogue, fully complying with international law.

China on July 7 used up to 110 ships of various types, including four military ships to defend the oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981, which is standing illegally in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, and prevent Vietnamese law enforcement ships from operating in their national waters.

Vietnam’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Nguyen Trung Thanh has informed about China’s illegal placement of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam’s waters before the international public attention.

The Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department on July 6 asked the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi to give reason for China’s arrest of Vietnamese fishing boat QNg 94912 TS with six fishermen on board on July 3.

On July 6, the Chinese side continued its aggressive acts at the site where its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 is illegally standing in Vietnamese waters to prevent Vietnamese law enforcement ships from approaching the rig.

The head of Viet Nam`s mission to the United Nations, Ambassador Le Hoai Trung, has asked UN The head of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for help in presenting its argument against China`s incursion into its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

Viet Nam’s permanent mission to the United Nations has sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, asking him to circulate the country’s two documents clarifying its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and exposing the fallacies of China’s claims, according to the Voice of Viet Nam.

The Government will provide VND 4.5 trillion (US$214.28 million) for fishermen to help them build offshore fishing vessels.

Speaking during a two-day visit to Da Nang city yesterday, President Truong Tan Sang asked all fishermen in the central city to continue their deep-sea trips, as their ancestors did, in Viet Nam`s traditional fishing grounds.

Nicaragua always supports Vietnam in safeguarding its national independence and sovereignty and believes that all peace-loving nations in the world will back Vietnam’s stance, said a senior official of Nicaragua’s ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front Party (FSLN).