Vietnam demands China to immediately stop sovereignty violations

ABO/VNA – Once again, Vietnam demands China to immediately stop its violations, withdraw its survey vessel group Haiyang Dizhi 8 from Vietnam’s territorial waters and not to repeat similar actions, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said.

The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang (Photo: VNA)

Hang made the statement at a regular press conference in Hanoi on October 3 while answering reporters’ queries about the return of Haiyang Dizhi 8 to Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, and its countermeasures.

She cited information from Vietnamese competent agencies as saying that the vessel group has continued to expand its operations in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, seriously violating Vietnam’s sovereign right and jurisdiction as defined in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of which both Vietnam and China are members.

Vietnam resolutely opposes the action and has made contact with the Chinese side, Hang said.

“Vietnam determinedly protects its sovereignty and legal interests in the East Sea through measures in line with international law,” she affirmed.

Regarding the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Geng Shuang’s statement on September 18, Hang said Vietnam’s stance on this issue was clearly stated by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman.

The area that China calls “Wan’an” is actually a shoal belonging to Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf defined in accordance with the 1982 UNCLOS, Hang said.

This is completely not a disputed nor overlapped area because China has no legal international grounds to make a claim on the area, she said, noting that the 1982 UNCLOS and trials have affirmed the fact.

(Source: VNA)