The Vietnam Fisheries Society (VINAFIS) has voiced its protest against China’s unilateral decision to ban fishing in the East Sea, saying that it has no validity.

Vietnamese fishing boats. (Source: VNA)

China’s Ministry of Agriculture has published an announcement on its official website that unilaterally makes adjustments to the country’s fishing ban in the East Sea, including Vietnam’s territorial waters. The ban will come into force from May 1^st to August 16^th, 2018.

The VINAFIS held that the unilateral fishing ban of China hampers fishing activities of Vietnamese fishermen and violates Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and the Tonkin Gulf territorial waters as well as its legitimate rights and interests. It also infringes international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and related international legal documents, and runs counter to the spirit and wording 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 the development trend of Vietnam-China relations and is not beneficial to peace and stability in the region, it added.

The VINAFIS urged Vietnamese authorities to take effective measures to stop China’s action and increase patrols in the sea to protect fishermen and facilitate their fishing activities in Vietnam’s territorial waters.

On March 22^nd, the Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang also declared that Vietnam opposes and resolutely rejects China’s unilateral decision to amend regulations on a fishing break in some territorial waters of Vietnam.

The spokeswoman stressed that Vietnam has sufficient legal ground and historical evidence affirming its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, as well as legitimate rights over its waters in line with the 1982 UNCLOS./.

VNF/VNA