Vietnam has confirmed it has prepared the necessary documents to sue China in an international court over the latter's incursions in the East Sea, Vietnam's term for the South China Sea.

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"We are prepared and ready for legal action," said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. "We are considering the most appropriate timing to take this measure."

Vietnam did not identify the international court, but this could probably be one of two courts provided for under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos): the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany or the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands.

"The necessary documents for a lawsuit against China have been prepared long ago," said Minister and Head of Government Office Nguyen Van Nen. He revealed that Vietnam was still weighing its options.

Nen said Vietnam must make careful calculations before making any definitive move in accordance with the country's peaceful approach to the East Sea dispute.

Vietnam's pending suit follows that of the Philippines which last March formally submitted a case to the arbitral tribunal of the of Unclos in The Hague challenging China's claims to own the South China Sea. It was the first time China has been sued over its illegal claim over practically the entire South China Sea.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines took the step of bringing China before an Arbitral Tribunal to achieve a peaceful and durable solution to the dispute over the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines' name for the South China Sea.

Asked if Vietnam will act in coordination with the Philippines to sue China, Tran Duy Hai, deputy head of Vietnam's National Border Committee, said Vietnam is still pursuing an independent policy and has no intentions at the moment of collaborating with a third party.

"We are still looking into all available options to settle this matter," he said.

Van Nen earlier repeated the stand of Prime Minister Dung that Vietnam refuses to accept "an exchange of sovereignty for an illusory and dependent 'friendship'."

Van Nen also said Vietnam would continue to use diplomatic means to convince China to remove the illegally-placed oil rig, confirming that the Vietnamese government is committed to a strategy to encourage peace.

He said that despite the many aggressive incidents involving Chinese vessels, Vietnam continued to show restraint so far.

Prime Minister Dung said he expects the US to make more concrete, more effective contributions to regional peace and stability. "The U.S. is a global power and a power in the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged support for Vietnam and the Philippines in their maritime disputes with China. He said Japan would help to "thoroughly maintain freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight."