Vietnam decries China’s fishing ban in East Sea

Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh has voiced strong protest over China’s announcement of a fishing ban in the East Sea, saying that the act violates Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and sovereign right and jurisdiction over the waters under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The spokesman made the statement in response to reporters’ question regarding the recent announcement by authorities of Haikou city, China’s southernmost Hainan province, of the ban on all fishing activities in the sea area from 12 degrees north parallel to the border of the waters of China’s Guangdong province with Fujian province (including the Tonkin Gulf). The ban is applied from 12h00 noon on May 16 to 12h00 noon on August 1, 2015.

“Vietnam vehemently opposes this void decision,” Binh said, emphasising that the country has sufficient legal and historical foundation testifying to its sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago and the sovereign right and jurisdiction over its waters, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf in line with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

VNA