Vietnam reserves legal rights and interests in the East Sea

On October 31, in response to a reporter's question asking for Vietnam's position on the fact that on October 29, 2015, the Arbitral Tribunal in the Philippines' lawsuit against China issued a Ruling on the issue of jurisdiction and the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Statement on October 30, 2015 rejecting the Ruling, continuing to affirm China's sovereignty over the archipelagos in the East Sea as well as China's historically formed rights in the East Sea, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Hai Binh stated:

"First of all, I would like to reaffirm Vietnam's indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos. As a coastal state in the East Sea and a member of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Vietnam has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as determined in accordance with the Convention."

Spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Hai Binh speaks. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

"Regarding the Philippines' lawsuit, Vietnam has repeatedly expressed its stance, especially in the Statement of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent to the Arbitral Tribunal on December 5, 2014. Vietnam will continue to closely monitor the progress of the lawsuit and reserves the right to use all appropriate and necessary peaceful measures to protect its legal rights and interests in the East Sea," the Spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed.

Responding to a reporter's question requesting further information on Vietnam's viewpoint stated in the Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam sent to the Arbitration Court on December 5, 2014, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Le Hai Binh said:

"I would like to summarize the main views of Vietnam stated in that Statement as follows:

Vietnam supports full compliance with and implementation of all provisions and procedures of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, including the settlement of all disputes relating to the interpretation or application of the Convention by peaceful means.

Vietnam reserves its legal rights and interests in the East Sea, including sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and rights and interests in the maritime zones determined under the Convention.

Vietnam hopes that the Court will interpret and apply relevant provisions of the Convention in the case to make a fair and objective judgment.

Vietnam requests the Court to pay special attention to Vietnam's legal rights and interests in the East Sea and Vietnam will consider further steps to protect national rights and interests"./.

According to VietNam+