Vietnam condems Chinese unilateral fishing ban in East Sea

Starting from May 16, the ban will last two and a half months and cover a large area of the East Sea, including the Gulf of Tonkin and Scarborough Shoal where Vietnam holds sovereignty in some areas.

“Vietnam resolutely opposes and refutes this worthless decision,” Binh said.

He said Vietnam has sufficient legal and historical foundations testifying to its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago (Paracel Islands) and the sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its waters, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf in line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Chinese action has seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago as well as Vietnam’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its waters, running counter to the spirit of the Declaration on Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (DOC), Binh said.

According to the Vietnam Fisheries Society, China has been imposing the ban for many years, hindering the production of Vietnamese fishermen and causing losses to the industry.

China began to introduce the fishing ban in 1999.