Vietnam, Philippines denounce China military drills in disputed waters

“Doing it in the contested areas then that will, you know, sound the alarm bells for all the claimants,” he said.

“That’s highly provocative,” he added.

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry sent a diplomatic note to China to oppose exercises that “seriously violate Vietnam’s sovereignty”, spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said at a regular briefing.

The drills “further complicate the situation, and are detrimental to the relationship between China and ASEAN”, she said.

Vietnam said in April that one of its fishing boats was sunk by a Chinese maritime surveillance vessel. China called Vietnam’s maritime claims illegal and “doomed to fail”.