Update on the situation of sea and islands for leaders of universities and academies

(Baonghean.vn) - The potential and strengths of the sea and islands; the legal and historical bases affirming Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos; the guidelines, policies and strategies of our Party and State on resolving disputes over sea sovereignty... are the contents conveyed at the training conference on knowledge about the sea and islands for managers of universities and academies in the Northern region taking place on September 28-29.

The conference was jointly organized by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Central Propaganda Department in Vinh City.

Comrade Pham Van Linh - Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department chaired the conference. Attending the conference were representatives of the Ministry of Education and Training; representatives of universities and academies in the northern region from Thua Thien Hue and above. On the side of Nghe An province, there were comrade Le Minh Thong - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and a number of relevant departments and branches.

Conference Overview.

Prof. Dr. Hoang Ngoc Ha - Deputy Head of the Central Steering Committee for External Information Work, Director of the Department of External Information and International Cooperation opened the Conference.

At the Conference, delegates listened to reporters from the National Border Committee - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Navy Command, Hanoi National University and a number of experts on seas and islands reporting on topics and exchanging and discussing contents such as: potential and strengths of Vietnam's seas and islands; laws on the sea, legal and historical bases affirming Vietnam's sovereignty over the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa; guidelines, lines and policies of our Party and State on resolving disputes over sovereignty over seas and islands, especially disputes over sovereignty over the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa of Vietnam.

Delegates attending the Conference.

Based on the training content, delegates attending the Conference are responsible for developing content, programs, and plans for propaganda about seas and islands at their units in 2016.

The information and knowledge presented at the Conference will contribute to supplementing knowledge, raising awareness, and promoting widespread propaganda among intellectuals, youth, and students working and studying in universities and academies. Thereby, enhancing sentiment and responsibility for the sea and islands of the Fatherland; improving the quality and effectiveness of propaganda work on the sea and islands in the coming time.

Regarding the strategy of protecting the marine environment, Vietnam and other countries in the world focus on the motto of "using the ocean to nourish the ocean": shifting from the mindset of exploitation to the mindset of effective and sustainable development; shifting from exploiting fresh, raw resources to deep processing to increase added value and save resources; shifting from focusing on exploiting material resources to exploiting the functional values ​​and spatial values ​​of the entire marine and ocean resource system, including the ecosystem.

Rely on scientific and technological advances to exploit for national interests and become ocean powers on the basis of developing advanced and modern marine and ocean science and technology. The conference also identified “The 21st century is the century of the ocean”, becoming a common argument to protect the marine environment and implement Vietnam’s marine strategy until 2020.

The topics presented at the conference on the morning of September 28 affirmed that in the context of humanity facing efforts and responding to the unpredictable impacts of climate change, the seas and oceans once again affirm their global role.

The East Sea - one of the six largest seas in the world, is not only a living space but also an area with important geopolitical, geo-economic and geo-cultural positions for related countries and is of interest to many countries in the world; is a sea area with an important role in ecology and biology, especially the Truong Sa archipelago area.

The East Sea is a bridge between two oceans, connecting Europe - Asia, the Middle East - Asia through international shipping routes with more than 60% of international shipping passing through. The East Sea has rich resources in both marine life and especially minerals, including oil fields.

Therefore, of the 10 coastal countries and territories, 9 countries claim sovereignty in the East Sea, including China with its ambition to monopolize the East Sea by making a claim of the "Nine-dash line" covering more than 80% of the East Sea area. These situations have long-term impacts on Vietnam's national interests and sovereignty.

Speaking at the Conference, Comrade Le Minh Thong - Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee hoped that delegates would absorb the content conveyed and effectively implement the content at their work units, contributing to strongly propagating the orientations and policies of the Party and State on sea and island issues.

With such an important role, our Party and State have identified the development of the marine economy with three major policies and solutions. In particular, strongly developing the marine economy in a comprehensive and focused manner with key sectors having comparative advantages to turn our country into a developed country in the marine economy and ensure national defense, security and international cooperation. In addition, it is also determined to develop the sea, coastal and island areas in association with the development of inland areas and environmental protection.

The orientation for developing and protecting Vietnam's sea and island sovereignty is to maintain the consistent stance that Truong Sa and Hoang Sa belong to Vietnam. We advocate negotiating to resolve and claim sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos by peaceful means. This policy is consistent with the United Nations Charter and UNCLOS.

The conference made many comments on the situation and history of the dispute; pointed out some common limitations and solutions in the propaganda and struggle to protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.

Delegates were also guided on identifying current maritime disputes and legal principles for resolving territorial sovereignty disputes and delimiting overlapping maritime and continental shelf boundaries.

On the afternoon of September 28, delegates will listen to two topics: "The situation in the East Sea in recent times and some issues arising in the current struggle to protect Vietnam's sea and island sovereignty", presented by Colonel Nguyen Van Dong - Deputy Chief of Political Affairs of the Naval Region 1 Command; "Some exchanges on experiences in propaganda work on seas and islands in the new situation" delivered by Dr. Tran Cong Truc - former Head of the Government Border Committee.

On September 29, delegates spent time discussing and developing programs and plans to promote the sea and islands in their units.

Hoai Thu