Viet Nam has continuously respected the freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh said.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh 

Binh made the statement yesterday in reply to reporters' queries on Viet Nam's response to the US ships' recent voyage near a number of geological structures of the Truong Sa (Spratly) islands of Viet Nam.

As a sovereign state over the Hoang Sa (Paracels) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos in the East Sea and a member of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Viet Nam has continuously respected the freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea in accordance with the Convention and the regulations of the coastal states, he affirmed.

Viet Nam is calling for parties involved to actively contribute to the maintenance of peace, stability, security and navigation and aviation safety in the East Sea on the basis of international law, including the UNCLOS and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), he stated.

VNS