Vietnam opposes and resolutely rejects China’s unilateral decision to adjust regulations on a fishing break at sea, including some territorial waters of Vietnam, said the Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang. 

Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang.

Hang made the statement at a regular press conference in Hanoi on March 22, in response to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s reporter’s query related to the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture’s announcement of the adjustments to the regulations.

The spokeswoman stressed that Vietnam has sufficient legal ground and historical evidence affirming its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, as well as legitimate rights over its waters in line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). 

These regulations violate Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago, and the country’s legal rights and interests over its waters, as well as international law, including the UNCLOS, she said. 

China’s decision also runs counter the spirit and wording of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of issues at sea signed between Vietnam and China, does not conform with the important agreement on well controlling disputes at sea reached by the two countries’ leaders, and brings no benefits to peace, stability and cooperation in the East Sea and the fruitful development trend of Vietnam-China relations, as well as efforts of countries in negotiating a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), Hang said.-VNA