Regarding China’s recent announcement of baselines in the Gulf of Tonkin, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Vietnam has and will continue to exchange views with China on this issue.
The information was announced by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang at a press conference on the afternoon of March 14, when answering a question about Vietnam’s reaction to China’s recent announcement of the baseline in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Accordingly, Ms. Hang emphasized that Vietnam and China are two countries bordering the Gulf of Tonkin. On December 25, 2000, the two countries signed an Agreement on the delimitation of the Gulf of Tonkin and this Agreement took effect on June 30, 2004 to determine the boundaries of territorial waters, exclusive economic zones and shelves. continent of each country in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Accordingly, Vietnam believes that coastal countries need to comply with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea UNCLOS when determining the baseline used to calculate the width of the territorial sea.
This must also ensure that it does not affect the legitimate rights and interests of other countries, including the right to freedom of navigation, the right to transit through straits used for international navigation, and in accordance with the Convention. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982.
“Vietnam has and will continue to exchange China’s views on this issue in the spirit of friendship, understanding and mutual respect,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Diagram of the demarcation line of the Gulf of Tonkin between Vietnam and China (Source: Government Border Committee).
Along with that, Vietnam requests that China respect and comply with the agreement on delimitation of territorial waters, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves between the two countries in the Gulf of Tonkin signed in 2000 between Vietnam and China and the Convention of the United Nations on the Law of the Sea in 1982.
At the same time, Vietnam reserves its legal rights and interests according to international law as well as the viewpoint stated in the statement dated June 6, 1996 of the Government of Vietnam related to the statement dated May 15. /1996 of the Chinese Government announced the baseline used to calculate the width of China’s territorial sea.
Previously on March 1, China issued a statement on the baseline of the northern part of the Gulf of Tonkin according to the country’s Law on Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone issued in 1992, including 7 “base points” when connecting the Gulf of Tonkin. Together, they form a new baseline to declare “territorial waters” in the Gulf of Tonkin.