China sent a note to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday, underlining its stand on the Vietnam-China standoff near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

"China sent the note to tell the international community the truth and set straight their understanding on the issue," Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, told reporters after delivering China's second note to the UN chief.

The first note was sent to Ban on 22 May. Wang said that the actions of the Vietnamese side, which China claimed had illegally and forcefully disrupted the Chinese operations at its oil rig in the disputed area, were serious infringements upon China's sovereignty and gross violations of the relevant international laws.

The standoff between the two countries began when China's state-owned oil dispatched an oil rig to a disputed area near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

According to documents released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, as of 7 June there were as many as 63 Vietnamese vessels in the area at one time attempting to break through China's cordon and ramming Chinese ships.

Vietnam, on the other hand, said that China had sent six warships to guard the rig in the disputed seas.