Vietnam opposes China’s unilateral decision to ban fishing in the East Vietnam Sea from May 1 to August 16, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said in a press meeting on Saturday.
Hanoi resolutely rejects the unilateral decision from Beijing, Hang made the statement while answering reporters’ query.
The ban has violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago as well as the country’s legitimate rights and interests in its maritime areas, the diplomat asserted.
It also infringed international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and went against the spirit and wording of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, as well as the Vietnam-China agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of issues at sea, she added.
“Vietnam has sufficient legal grounds and historical evidence proving its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa [Spratly] archipelagos, and legitimate rights over its waters,” the spokesperson said.
Measures to preserve organism resources should be taken in line with the 1982 UNCLOS and should not harm the sovereign rights and jurisdiction at sea of relevant countries, she noted.
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