Vietnam and China signed a maritime boundary agreement in the Gulf of Tonkin on December 25, 2000 that identifies the boundaries of territorial waters, continental shelves, and exclusive economic zones of each country in the waters. The agreement took effect on June 30, 2024.
At a regular press briefing in Hanoi on March 14, Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affair of Vietnam, said expressed Vietnam’s viewpoint that coastal countries need to comply with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) when determining the baseline used to measure the breadth of the territorial sea, to ensure that it does not affect the legitimate rights and interests of other countries, including the right to freedom of navigation and the right to transit through straits used for international navigation, in accordance with the 1982 Convention.
Vietnam requests that China respect and comply with the agreement on delimitation of territorial waters, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves between the two countries in the Gulf of Tonkin signed in 2000, and the 1982 UNCLOS, Hang said.
Vietnam reserves its legal rights and interests under international law, as well as the position stated in the statement dated June 6, 1996 of the Vietnamese government related to the statement dated May 15, 1996 of the Chinese government announcing the baseline used to calculate the breadth of China’s territorial sea, added the spokesperson.
According to the spokesperson, Vietnam will continue to discuss with China this issue in the spirit of friendship, understanding and mutual respect.