Chinese ships in the East Sea (Photo: VNA) The Philippines has sent two more diplomatic protests toChina, saying that the continued swarming and threatening presence of theChinese vessels creates an atmosphere of instability and is a blatant disregardof the commitments by China to promote peace and stability in the region.
In a resolution filed on April 26, 11 Filipino senatorscondemned China’s activities which they said caused tensions in the East Sea, affirmingthat the activities are a clear violation of the 1982 United Nations Conventionon the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Hague tribunal ruling.
The resolution requested Beijing to respect the UNCLOS which serves as the Constitution for the oceans and is an international treatycodifying customary international law, and which does not regard the display ofmilitary might or strength as a valid means for appropriating or claiming maritimeareas and resources.
Meanwhile, in the 2021 edition of the Diplomatic Bluebookreleased on April 27, the Japanese Government emphasized concerns over China’smilitary expansion and activities in the East China Sea and East Sea.
It said that China’s expansion of military capabilities thatlack transparency and growing unilateral actions to change the status quo inAsian waters pose “strong concerns” in the region and to the internationalcommunity.
Earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and USPresident Joe Biden warned of China's aggressive moves in the region. Speakingafter their talks in the White House on April 17, Suga said “We oppose anyattempt to change the status quo by force or coercion”.
The European Union also expressed concern regarding thepresence of Chinese vessels in many areas in the East Sea.
In a statement coursed through the European External ActionService, the EU said that the presence of the Chinese vessels at Whitsun Reefis threatening peace and stability in the region.
“The EU supports the ASEAN-led process towards an effective,substantive and legally binding Code of Conduct, which should not prejudice theinterests of third parties. The EU urges all parties to pursue sincere effortstowards its finalisation,” the statement added.
The EU also urged all parties to resolve disputes throughpeaceful means in accordance with international law, in particular UNCLOS,including its dispute settlement mechanisms.
Addressing the Raisina Dialogue in India on April 13, SecretaryGeneral of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenbergstated that China’s more assertive moves were challenging the rules-basedinternational order and hampering freedom of navigation in the East Sea.
Meanwhile, the website eurasiareview.com stressed in anarticle that China’s increasing incursions in the sea in defiance of globalnorms has heightened tensions in the region.
Speaking at the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s regular pressconference on April 29, the ministry’s Deputy Spokesman Doan Khac Vietunderlined Vietnam’s objection to China’s recent fishing ban.
Replying to a question about the report that the Chinesecoast guard force declared the enforcement of the fishing ban on the sea areacovering part of the Gulf of Tonkin and Vietnam's Hoang Sa archipelago, thedeputy spokesman reiterated that Vietnam has sufficient legal ground andhistorical evidence testifying to its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos,as well as its legal rights towards sea areas identified in line with the 1982 UNCLOS.
Vietnam holds that measures to preserve creature resourcesneed to be implemented in conformity with regulations of the 1982 UNCLOS andmust not harm the sovereign right and jurisdiction at sea of other relatedstates, according to Viet.
He stressed that Vietnam objects to and resolutely rejectsthis unilateral decision by the Chinese side, which has violated Vietnam’ssovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago; infringed international law, includingthe 1982 UNCLOS; run counter to the spirit and wording of the Declaration onthe Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC); and gone against the agreement onbasic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues between Vietnamand China.
He again declared that any act harming Vietnam’s sovereigntyover Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, as well as the country’s sovereignty,sovereign right, and jurisdiction over its sea areas is valueless and notrecognised, and Vietnam resolutely objects to such acts./.
VNA
