Published : Tuesday, May 22, 2012 00:00 Article Views : 3,764

HANOI: Sixty-six Vietnamese from various backgrounds and fields, supported the Philippines claim on the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and called on China to abandon its absurd marital claim on the area.

The group, which include well-known intellectuals and academicians in Vietnam and overseas, sent a letter to Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Jerril Galban Santos to express their support for the Philippines in the standoff with China.

Among the signatories are a former Vietnamese ambassador to China, several heads of tertiary institutions, poets and social scientists.

We fully support the sovereign rights of the Philippines in the Panatag Shoal area and the Philippiness actions to defend her sovereign rights, they said in their letter.

We resolutely oppose Chinas attempts to use its nine-dashed line, which is completely without historical or legal basis, to encroach on the Exclusive Economic Zones and continental shelves of the Philippines, Vietnam and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries. We strongly oppose Chinas illegal actions and threats of force in the Panatag Shoal dispute, they added.

The group also backed the Philippine governments proposal to submit the dispute to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Itlos).

We call on the governments and citizens of all Asean countries to take concrete actions to show solidarity with the Philippines, to assist her in the defense of her sovereign rights in the Panatag Shoal area, and to defend the sovereign rights of each and every Asean country as affirmed in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (Unclos), they said.

We solemnly declare that Chinas illegal nine-dashed line constitutes a threat to peaceful cooperation and sustainable development in Southeast Asia. To re-establish stability and ensure freedom of navigation in the West Philippines Sea/East Sea, we demand that China gives up its absurd maritime claims in these waters. The just cause of the government and people of the Philippines will prevail, they added.

Those who signed the letter were Major-General Nguyen Trong Vinh, Former Ambassador of The Socialist Republic of Vietnam to PR China, Prof. Nguyen Minh Thuyet, PhD, Former Vice-President, The Committee for Culture, Education and Youth, National Assembly, Nguyen Ngoc, Writer, Bui Ngoc Tan, Writer, Thanh Thao, Poet, Prof. Pham Duy Hien, PhD, Former Director, Da Lat Institute of Atom, Prof. Nguyen Hue Chi, Former President of Scientific Committee, Institute of Vietnamese Literature, Pham Toan, Educator, Prof. Nguyen The Hung, PhD, University of Da Nang, Vice President, Vietnamese Association of Hydromechanics, Prof. Chu Hao, Director, Tri Thuc Publisher, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Nguyen, PhD, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia. Association Prof. Hoang Dung, PhD, Ho Chi Minh City University of Pedagogy, Pham Xuan Nguyen, President, Association of Ha Noi Writers, Nguyen Ba Dung, Engineer, Pham Hoang Quan, Independent Researcher, Hoang Hung, Poet, Prof. Tuong Lai, Former President, The Institute of Sociology of Vietnam, Nguyen Quang A, PhD, Former President, The Institute of Development Studies, Nguyen Ngoc Giao, Former Lecturer, Freelance Writer, Paris, France, Thai Van Cau, Space Science Specialist, USA, Nguyen Xuan Dien, PhD, Institute of Han-Nom, Dinh Kim Phuc, Researcher on the East Sea and Vietnamese Islands, Le Dang Doanh, PhD, Former Director, Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM), Prof. Hoang Tuy, PhD, Former President, Scientific Committee of Vietnam Institute of Mathematics, Prof. Emeritus Nguyen Dang Hung, PhD, University of Liege, Belgium, To Van Truong, PhD, Specialist of Vietnamese Natural Resources and Environment, Ha Si Phu, PhD, 4E Bui Thi Xuan Str., Dang Thi Thanh Bien, Phan Dac Lu, Poet, Mac Lam, Journalist, Mai Thai Linh, Former Teacher, Researcher, Huynh Nhat Hai, retired Official, Huynh Nhat Tan, Ha Dinh Nguyen, 76, Tran Thanh Van, Association Prof. Dang Ngoc Le, PhD, President, Association of Linguistics of Ho Chi Minh City, Tran Thi Khanh, Editor, Nguyen Thi Tu Huy, PhD, lawyer Tran Quoc Thuan, Former Permanent Vice Chairman, Office of National Assembly of the SR of Vietnam, Kha Luong Ngai, Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Sai Gon Giai Phong News, Cao Lap, Former Political Prisoner in Con Dao, Tran Minh Thao, Writer, Dang Thi Hao, PhD, Former Vice Head, Section of Ancient and Mediveal Literature, Institute of Literature, Ha Noi, Vu Quang Viet, Specialist of Economics for UN, USA, Prof. Nguyen Dinh Cong, PhD, Former Chair of the Construction Department, University of Construction, Ha Noi, Nguyen Duc Hiep, Specialist of the Atmosphere, Office of Environment and Heritages, NSW, Australia.

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Vietnamese intellectuals back PH Panatag claim