The Vietnam Fisheries Association have protested China’s illegal ban on fishing in the East Sea and urged local authorities to take actions against Chinese violations and to protect Vietnamese fishermen.
The association cited Xinhua as saying that, the annual unilateral ban is from May 16 to August 1 this year, on all fishing activities in the sea area from 12 degrees north parallel to the border of the waters of China’s Guangdong Province with Fujian Province, including the Tonkin Gulf and Scarborough.
A fishing boat of Vietnam (Photo by VietnamPlus)
China has implemented the illegal ban for many years, seriously affecting Vietnamese fishermen's fishing activities, causing them losses.
According to the association, this act by China violates Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and sovereign right and jurisdiction over the waters under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The association strongly condemned China’s unilateral ban, saying it it is completely illegal and invalid.
The association also asked Vietnamese authorities to take actions to deal with China’s move and deploy law-enforcing ships to protect local fishermen from possible threats by Chinese ships, and create good conditions for them to operate in waters under Vietnam’s sovereignty.
