Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokesman makes announcement about the East Sea
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh
(VOVworld) - The Foreign Ministry has responded to China’s statement claiming Vietnam’s expansion and significant land reclamation in reefs and islands which China says Vietnam “occupied” in the East Sea. Spokesman Le Hai Binh asserted that Vietnam has sufficient legal grounds and historical evidence confirming its national sovereignty and jurisdiction rights in the East Sea in line with international laws, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. China’s ongoing expansion and upgrades of islands and reefs have seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea, causing grave concern for the international community, including the ASEAN. Once again, Vietnam asks China to stop these activities, comply with and implement international laws in earnest, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, retreat from further complicating acts and widening conflicts in the East Sea.
Regarding the Chinese mission to the UN’s diplomatic note to its counterpart missions in the UN, confirming China’s sovereignty and relating claims in the East Sea, saying that China’s construction work in reefs and islands in the East Sea is “legitimate, proper and correct”, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman said this was wrong view without any legal grounds and historical facts. On April 30, 2015, Vietnam’s permanent mission to the UN sent a diplomatic note to all its counterpart missions at the UN rejecting China’s view.