VietNamNet Bridge – Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh has voiced strong protest over China's announcement of a fishing ban in the East Sea.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh – Photo: VOV

Binh said that the act violated Viet Nam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the waters under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The spokesman made the statement in response to reporters' question regarding a recent announcement by authorities of Haikou city, China's southernmost Hainan province.

The Chinese announcement said that its ban applied to all fishing activities in the sea area from 12 degrees north parallel to the border of the waters of China's Guangdong province with Fujian province (including the Tonkin Gulf).

It added that the ban applied from noon on May 16 to noon on August 1.

"Viet Nam vehemently opposes this void decision," Binh said. He said Viet Nam had sufficient legal and historical foundations testifying to its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago and the sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its waters, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf in line with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

VNS