Vietnam slams China’s East Sea fishing ban
VOV.VN - Vietnam on April 29 rejected China’s unilateral fishing ban in waters that include parts of Vietnam’s Tonkin Gulf and Hoang Sa (Paracel) islands in the East Sea.
Vietnam has sufficient legal basis and historical evidence to assert its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, as well as the legitimate rights to its waters determined in accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, said Doan Khac Viet, deputy spokesperson for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
China recently announced it would ban fishing in the waters of the East Sea it has claimed, including the Gulf of Tonkin and Paracel islands, to conserve stocks, starting on May 1.
However, Viet told media workers at the Foreign Ministry’s regular press briefing that measures to conserve biological resources should be carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions of UNCLOS 1982 and must not do harm to the sovereignty or jurisdiction at sea of other related countries.
Vietnam resolutely rejects this unilateral decision of the Chinese side as it violates the country’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago, and international law, including UNCLOS 1982, said Viet.
He also stressed that China’s move runs contrary to the spirit and wording of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), as well as the agreement on basic principles guilding the settlement of maritime disputes between Vietnam and China.