Vietnam opposes Chinese unilateral fishing ban. Illustrative photo by Dan Viet
Vice-Chairman of the Vietnam Fisheries Association, Nguyen Chu Hoi on May 4 sent a letter to the Government Office and concerned agencies voicing their opposition against China's unilateral ban on all fishing activities in the East Sea from May 1, 2022.
According to the association, the annual unilateral ban announced by China would take effect for three months from May 1 this year on all fishing activities from the northern area of the East Sea to the 12 degrees north parallel, including the Gulf of Tonkin and Paracel Archipelago which belong to Vietnam.
"This act by China violates Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel Archipelago and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the waters under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," the association wrote. " It also violates Vietnam's right and interest in its exclusive economic zone."
The association strongly condemned China’s unilateral ban, saying it is completely illegal and invalid.
"Vietnamese fishermen can continue to fish in the waters that belong to the country," the association stressed.
China has implemented the ban for many years, seriously affecting Vietnamese fishermen's fishing activities, causing them losses.
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.
In a press conference held in Hanoi last weekend, spokeswoman for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang also said that Vietnam slammed the unilateral fishing ban imposed by China in the East Sea as a violation of its sovereignty and jurisdiction over Vietnamese territory.
"Vietnam requests China to respect Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracel Islands, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its maritime zones when taking measures to conserve biological resources in the East Sea, without complicating the situation towards maintaining peace, stability and order in the East Sea," Hang said.
