Vietnam Fisheries Society opposes China’s fishing ban in East Sea

It has sent the objection document to the Government Office, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations and Commission for Information and Education.

This comes as China recently imposed the annual fishing ban, which is applicable from May 1 to August 16 this year, on an area which includes  the country’s Hoang Sa, known internationally as the Paracel islands, in the East Sea.

The VINAFIS said the unilateral, groundless, and repeated ban put in place by China seriously violates Vietnamese sovereignty over its own island and sea, as well as its rights and interests, whilst infringing on international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), running counter to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), to which both Vietnam and China are parties.

Such a long fishing ban will hamper normal activities of Vietnamese fishing vessels and fishermen operating in ocean areas under Vietnamese sovereignty. Therefore, this groundless ban will only serve to increase the risk of encounters between vessels of Vietnamese fishermen and the coast guard force of China whilst simultaneously negatively affecting the fisheries sector and fishermen’s way to earn their living.

VINAFIS noted that it resolutely opposes the wrongful fishing ban being enforced by China and demands the they immediately end this unreasonable ban in the waters of Hoang Sa (Paracels).

It also called on relevant agencies to strongly object to and take strong measures to prevent the groundless Chinese fishing ban to protect the marine and fishery resources typical for each sea area; protect the safety of Vietnamese fishermen when they work in the waters under Vietnamese sovereignty, sovereign right, and jurisdiction; and firmly safeguard security, defence, and maritime sovereignty of the country.

It will instruct seafood and fisheries associations of localities to co-ordinate closely with one another and relevant units as a means of boosting communications to promote fishermen’s law compliance while working in the sea, as well as encouraging fishermen to maintain their presence at sea, thereby helping to protect the Fatherland’s maritime sovereignty, VINAFIS added.

This comes after a Foreign Ministry’s press briefing held on April 20 when Doan Khac Viet, vice spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, stated that the "fishing ban" imposed by China in the East Sea violates Vietnamese sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracels) as well as its sovereignty rights and jurisdiction over the waters and exclusive economic zone defined in accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

He also affirmed that the nation’s consistent stance on the “fishing ban” unilaterally and illegally issued by China in the East Sea from May 1 to August 16, at a regular press conference of the Foreign Ministry held in Hanoi.

The country therefore requests that China respect Vietnamese sovereignty over Hoang Sa, its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its maritime zones, whilst not further complicating the situation, contributing to maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea, he stressed.