Top US diplomat emphasises need to ensure rules-based maritime order

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - The international community has long benefited from therules-based maritime order, where international law, as reflected in the 1982 UNConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), sets out the legal framework for allactivities in the oceans and seas, US Secretary of State AntonyBlinken has said.

Blinken made the remarks in a press statement issued on the fifthanniversary of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)’s ruling on thePhilippines’ lawsuit against China on disputes in the South China Sea (calledthe East Sea in Vietnam) (July 12).

Accordingto the statement, five years ago, an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the 1982 UNCLOS,delivered a unanimous and enduring decision firmly rejecting China’s expansive maritimeclaims in the South China Sea as having no basis in international law. TheTribunal stated that China has no lawful claim to the area determined by theArbitral Tribunal to be part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone andcontinental shelf. China and the Philippines, pursuant to their treaty obligations under the 1982UNCLOS, are legally bound to comply with this decision.

TheUS reaffirms its July 13, 2020 policy regarding maritime claims in theSouth China Sea, Blinken said.

Hecalled on China to abide by its obligations under international law, cease itsprovocative behavior, and take steps to reassure the international communitythat it is committed to the rules-based maritime order that respects the rightsof all countries, big and small./.

VNA