Top Vietnamese officials launched a simultaneous propaganda blitz this week asserting that it is committed to defending its sovereignty against possible external encroachment.

Nguyen Phu Trong, chief of Vietnam's Communist Party, said in a Hanoi meeting on Tuesday that Vietnam does not intend to engage in war, but it should be ready to defend its sovereignty over Paracel Islands.

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The Communist Party Chief lambasted Beijing for deploying an oil rig into Vietnam's shores on May 2.

Currently, the said oil rig remains 30 kilometers off the coast of the Paracel Islands and is protected by Chinese fleets from Vietnamese police vessels.

In an online interaction with the Vietnamese maritime police force, President Truong Tan Sang said Vietnam will not back down under any circumstances to China. The maritime police force is the country's current defense against China's coastguard and military vessels patrolling the area.

Minister and Chairman of Vietnam's the Government Office Nguyen Van Nen said later in the same day that Vietnam will be considering to take up legal action against China

The commentaries from Vietnam's top three leaders were the first of its kind having all three comment on the same issues publicly on the same day.

Experts find the actions of Vietnam's leader significant, particularly the explicit use of the term "all necessary measures" that pertain to the country's option of driving the Chinese away from Vietnamese shores. They condemned China's aggressive stance and behavior especially the collision of ships that led to the sinking of Vietnamese fishing boats.

"When you talk about 'all necessary measures,' people's first reaction is military measures," said Yun Sun, a China security policy expert of Stimson Center, a think tank based in Washington.

Yun said that given its more substantial naval forces, China would not see any Vietnamese military action as a threat.

She also added that China will not recognize any international court ruling, just like what it did when the Philippines filed a case against Beijing. She said that any legal approach Vietnam seeks is only good on paper, but would not affect China in whatever form.

TagsChina-Vietnam relations, Media Propaganda, Vietnamese Officials