At the seminar (Source: VNA) Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – Legal matters involving the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, the Netherlands, were featured at an international workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on July 23.
Attending the event were more than 200 guests and 20 speakers who are prestigious researchers in the fields of politics, international law and marine law from Russia, Japan, the Philippines, Australia, Belgium and Vietnam.
In his opening speech, Rector of the HCM City University of Law Mai Hong Quy underscored the need for Vietnam and countries to study procedures to settle disputes by arbitration procedures established at Appendix VII of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Participants clarified mechanisms to settle disputes in line with the 1982 UNCLOS, weighed the legal value of the ruling issued by the PCA on July 12 in the Philippines’ lawsuit against China, the lawsuit’s impact on the regional and global politics, navigation and aviation freedom, and international relations.
Ngo Huu Phuoc, Vice Dean of International Law from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, said the legal proceedings should be launched only when Vietnam uses all political and diplomatic measures, but to no avail.
Regarding the PCA’s ruling, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh on July 12 confirmed that Vietnam welcomes the PCA’s ruling and the country will issue a statement on the ruling’s content.
“Vietnam once again reiterates its consistent stance on this lawsuit as it was fully shown in the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s Declaration on December 5, 2014 sent to the arbitration tribunal,” he noted.
“In that spirit, Vietnam strongly supports settling disputes in the East Sea through peaceful measures, including diplomatic and legal processes without the use or threat to use force, as in line with regulations of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, maintaining peace and stability in the region, security, safety and freedom of navigation in and overflight over the East Sea, and respecting the law-abiding principle in seas and oceans,” Binh said.
“On this occasion, Vietnam once again affirms its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, the sovereignty over internal waters and territorial waters, the sovereign right and jurisdiction over Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as defined in line with the 1982 UNCLOS.”
Vietnam upholds all of its legitimate rights and interests regarding the geographical structures belonging to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes, he added.-VNA
