Negotiating and signing international treaties on demarcating maritime boundaries

(Baonghean.vn) -Question 34. Up to now, how many international treaties on maritime boundary delimitation with relevant countries has Vietnam negotiated and signed, and how should this work continue?

Reply:Negotiations on the delimitation of overlapping maritime zones and continental shelves between Vietnam and countries bordering the East Sea have been, are being, and will be carried out in the following areas:

1. The boundary of the maritime zones and continental shelf in the Gulf of Tonkin is relevant between Vietnam and China, where the coasts of the two sides are adjacent and opposite each other, less than 400 nautical miles apart.

2. Boundaries of exclusive economic zones and relevant continental shelves between Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia in the northern, central, and southern regions of the East Sea.

3. Boundaries of relevant maritime zones and continental shelves between Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand.

4. Boundary of the sea area of ​​Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.

So far, Vietnam has solved:

- Maritime boundary in the Gulf of Tonkin, signed on December 25, 2000.

- Continental shelf boundary between Vietnam and Indonesia in the southern East Sea area, signed on June 26, 2003.

- The boundary of the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in the Gulf of Thailand between Vietnam and Thailand, signed on August 9, 1997.

- In addition, on June 5, 1992, Vietnam and Malaysia signed an agreement to apply a temporary solution to jointly exploit the overlapping area of ​​2,800 km2.

- Agreement on "historic waters" between Vietnam and Cambodia, signed on July 7, 1982.

In the coming time, Vietnam will negotiate and sign maritime delimitation agreements with relevant countries, specifically:

- Demarcation of overlapping exclusive economic zones between Vietnam and Indonesia.

- Delimitation of continental shelf and exclusive economic zone boundaries between Vietnam and Malaysia.

- Delimitation of overlapping continental shelf boundaries between Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia in the Gulf of Thailand.

- Demarcation of borders and maritime boundaries between Vietnam and Cambodia within "historical waters" and outside "historical waters".

- Demarcation of maritime boundaries outside the Gulf of Tonkin between Vietnam and China.

According to Q&A on Vietnam's Law of the Sea

(To be continued)