Permanent Court of Arbitration to open Vietnam representative office

At the online signing ceremony between the Vietnamese government and the PCA at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Hanoi, Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu and Secretary-General of the PCA Hugo Siblesz praised the cooperation between Vietnam and the PCA, and the role the PCA plays in training Vietnamese legal experts in multiple legal fields, the World & Vietnam Report newspaper wrote.

The PCA opening a representative office in Vietnam is proof of Vietnam’s standing regarding international integration, as well as its consistent stance to support peaceful resolution of international conflicts. It also helps make the PCA’s legal services more accessible for both Vietnam and other countries in the region, Hieu and Hugo said.

The PCA, based in Hague, is an intergovernmental organization that provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes pertaining to international agreements between countries, international organizations and other parties.

In 2016, the PCA ruled China’s infamous nine-dash line had no basis in international law and that the historical rights claimed by China were "extinguished" by the ratification of UNCLOS. In short, China has no exclusive right to resources in the South China Sea, where it claims over 90 percent of the area. Vietnam calls the waters the East Sea.