The view was agreed upon by participants at a seminar in Hanoi on March 30 to discuss international cooperation in scientific investigation and survey, in the areas around Vietnam’s continental shelves and the Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes. The seminar was held by the General Department of Sea and Islands (GDSI), under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE).

The delegates said that such cooperation will help to promote marine-based economic operations, which will create a genuine basis for Vietnamese claims to sovereignty at sea.

According to the GDSI, this cooperation will improve the capacity of Vietnamese scientists when investigating maritime resources by getting access to modern equipment. In addition, countries in the region will have a better chance to exchange experience, information and technologies in maritime science.

The seminar is part of the “International Cooperation at Sea until 2020” project approved by the government in June 2008.