Vietnam had once again called on China to immediately end its construction and expansion on reef islands belonging to Vietnam in the East Sea, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh said on May 8.
“Vietnam has sufficient legal and historical evidence to affirm its sovereignty and jurisdiction in the East Sea in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” he told reporters.
China’s construction and expansion activities on the reef islands had seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea, causing deep concerns among the international community, including the ASEAN, Binh said.
Vietnam insisted China immediately put an end to these activities and observe international law, especially the UNCLOS and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and avoid actions to complicate the extend disputes at sea.
The spokesman also voiced strong protest over a recent announcement by authorities of Haikou city, China’s southernmost Hainan province, of a fishing ban in
the East Sea.-
