Spokeswoman of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang on September 1 affirmed that Vietnam has sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracels) and the Truong Sa(Spratlys), and urged countries to abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS).
Hang made this statement in response to a reporter’s question to comment on China’s official implementation of the Law on Maritime Traffic Safety in the South China Sea (Vietnam calls it the East Sea).
On August 27, China’s Maritime Safety Administration issued a notice saying that starting from September 1, Beijing will force foreign ships entering China’s “territorial waters” to declare information to the China Maritime Safety Administration.
Currently, China is claiming sovereignty over nearly 90% of the South China Sea with its nine-dash line which includes the continental shelf and exclusive economic zones of a number of countries in the region, including Vietnam.
Ms. Hang told the press that “Vietnam resolutely and persistently takes measures in accordance with international law to enforce and protect Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes; sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its maritime zones are determined in accordance with the provisions of UNCLOS.”
Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense on September 1 also criticized China’s new Maritime Safety Law, considering it an act that threatens freedom of navigation.
Spokesman John Supple of the US Defense Department said “Illegal maritime claims, including in the South China Sea, seriously threaten freedoms of the seas, including freedom of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded lawful commerce, the rights and interests of countries in the South China Sea as well as other coastal states.”
Thoibao.de (Translated)
