A Chinese marine surveillance ship (Photo: AFP/VNA)
New York (VNA) – China’s maritimeclaims and recent actions in the East Sea ran counter to the provisions of the United Nations Conventionon the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982), according to an expert onthe East Sea issue.
Talking to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in NewYork, Dr Vu Quang Viet, former head of the National Accounts Division of the UN, said China had clearlytaken provocative actions in the sea, and faced opposition from many countries worldwide,especially the US.
Viet said among the above-mentioned actions were a Chinese marine surveillance ship's sinking of a Vietnamese fishing vessel near the Paracel (Hoang Sa) archipelago, sending Haiyan Dizhi 8 into Vietnam's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), unreasonable sovereignty claims over Vietnam’s Paracel and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, and the issuance of the so-called “standard names” for 80 entities in the East Sea.
According to him, the US State Department and Department of Defence and Americanlawmakers have condemned China's actions, saying they are illegal and harm countries in the region. The Philippine Foreign Ministry also expressed its solidarityand support for Vietnam on the issue.
In face of this, the Vietnamese Government has repeatedly sent notes to the UNto oppose China’s claims and sovereignty violations in the East Sea, Viet said.
Meanwhile, Prof Ta Van Tai from Harvard University emphasised that China's recent actions are provocative towards Vietnam'ssovereignty in the East Sea and contrary to UNCLOS 1982.
He said that China’s claim of sovereignty overalmost the entire East Sea via the so-called “nine-dash line” is groundless, and violates maritimesovereignty of other countries as clearly stated in the convention./.
