Da Lat island on Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago

In an interview granted to VNA correspondents in Brussels on October 8, Lawyer BernardInsel further said the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague in 2016 rejected China'sclaim over the so-called "nine-dash line" in the East Sea, andaffirmed that China's unreasonable claims cannot change the nature of thismaritime area, on the basis of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

The East Sea has a strategic role with many countries and the region because itis the most bustling maritime route in the world, he stressed, adding that activitiesin the sea should be based on the principles of navigation freedom as well as thoseof international law of the sea.

Insel's comments were made in the context that many countries around the worldhave expressed deep concern about the rising tension in the East Sea recently asChina has committed serious violations of international law, violated sovereignrights and jurisdiction and obstructed legal oil and gas activities in the exclusiveeconomic zone (EEZ) of Vietnam and other coastal countries, especially itsdeployment of HaiyangDizhi 8 and escort ships into Vietnam’s EEZ at the Tu Chinh reef(internationally known as Vanguard Bank)./.VNA