Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam opposes and resolutely rejects China’s unilateraldecision to adjust regulations on a fishing break at sea, including some territorialwaters of Vietnam, said the Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang.
Hang made the statement at a regular press conference in Hanoi on March22, in response to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s reporter’s query related to theChinese Ministry of Agriculture’s announcement of the adjustments to theregulations.
The spokeswoman stressed that Vietnam has sufficient legal ground andhistorical evidence affirming its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) andTruong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, as well as legitimate rights over its watersin line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
These regulations violate Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Saarchipelago, and the country’s legal rights and interests over its waters, aswell as international law, including the UNCLOS, she said.
China’s decision also runs counter the spirit and wording of theDeclaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the agreementon basic principles guiding the settlement of issues at sea signed betweenVietnam and China, does not conform with the important agreement on wellcontrolling disputes at sea reached by the two countries’ leaders, and bringsno benefits to peace, stability and cooperation in the East Sea and the fruitfuldevelopment trend of Vietnam-China relations, as well as efforts of countriesin negotiating a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), Hang said.-VNA