Organisation in France calls for China’s respect for East Sea ruling

The Council of Representatives of French and Vietnamese Associations (CRAFV) has issued a petition calling on China to respect the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling on the Philippines lawsuit against China’s claims in the East Sea.

The Council of Representatives of French and Vietnamese Associations (CRAFV) has issued a petition calling on China to respect the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling on the Philippines lawsuit against China’s claims in the East Sea.

China's illegal construction of artificial island on Truong Sa archipelago (Source: Reuters) 

The petition mentions the recent complicated disputes in the East Sea and recalls the unacceptable actions conducted by China since 1974, especially the construction of artificial islands and a large-scale airport infrastructure.

Although the PCA issued the final ruling on July 12 rejecting China’s groundless claims over the “nine-dash line” in the sea, the country has once again refused to recognise the verdict.

The petition calls on government and political agencies of the EU, the US and ASEAN to take necessary actions to persuade China to respect the PCA’s ruling, and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and halt its illegal construction of artificial islands, militarising those islands, and illegally hindering Vietnamese fishermen from doing their work in their traditional fishing ground.

The petition was posted on the website www.change.org to collect people’s signatures. It then will be addressed to French leaders, EU institutions, and Ambassadors to France of the US, China, Australia, Japan, Vietnam and other ASEAN countries.