Vietnamese fishing boats (Source: VNA)Hanoi(VNA) – The Vietnam Fisheries Society (VINAFIS)has voiced its protest against China’s unilateral decision to ban fishing inthe East Sea, saying that it has no validity.
China’s Ministry of Agriculture has published anannouncement on its official website that unilaterally makes adjustments to thecountry’s fishing ban in the East Sea, including Vietnam’s territorial waters.The ban will come into force from May 1 to August 16, 2018.
The VINAFIS held that the unilateral fishing ban of Chinahampers fishing activities of Vietnamese fishermen and violates Vietnam’ssovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and the Tonkin Gulf territorialwaters as well as its legitimate rights and interests. It also infringes internationallaw, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)and related international legal documents, and runs counter to the spirit andwording of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (DOC)signed between ASEAN and China in 2002, the VINAFIS said.
China’s unilateral action is not in line with thedevelopment trend of Vietnam-China relations and is not beneficial to peace andstability in the region, it added.
The VINAFIS urged Vietnamese authorities to takeeffective measures to stop China’s action and increase patrols in the sea toprotect fishermen and facilitate their fishing activities in Vietnam’sterritorial waters.
On March 22, the Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Le ThiThu Hang also declared that Vietnam opposes and resolutely rejects China’sunilateral decision to amend regulations on a fishing break in some territorialwaters of Vietnam.
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 UNCLOS. -VNA
VNA
