BEIJING, May 14 -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday held a phone conversation with his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa on China's current tensions with Vietnam in the South China Sea.

Wang briefed Natalegawa on the maritime friction between China and Vietnam, emphasizing a Chinese enterprise was carrying out normal oil drilling activities in China's Xisha Islands and its contiguous zone, activities which had started 10 years ago.

"The violent disruptions and barbaric ramming by a large number of Vietnamese vessels are why the situation has become tense," he said.

What the Vietnamese had done violated China's sovereignty and jurisdiction, ran counter to a series of international agreements safeguarding maritime security, and undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea, Wang said.

He said, "China's position on safeguarding its legitimate sovereign rights and interests is firm and clear and will not change."

The foreign minister said China and Vietnam were conducting necessary communication on the current situation.

"We urge the Vietnamese side to calm down, respect China's sovereignty and jurisdiction and not to attempt to further complicate and aggravate the situation," he said.

China also hopes member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would clearly understand the basic facts of the incident, and together with China continue to safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea region, Wang said.

Natalegawa said China was an important pivot in maintaining regional peace, stability and prosperity.

Indonesia takes no side on the sovereignty issue of the South China Sea, and is willing to work with China to safeguard regional peace and stability in the region, he said.