(VOVWORLD) - China’s plan to establish two new districts in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago is a violation of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Ambassador Nguyen Hong Thao, Vice Chairman of the UN International Law Commission, said in a recent interview with the Voice of Vietnam.
 The Fiery Cross Reef is one of the seven marine features in Vietnam’s Spratly archipelago where China has illegally built artificial islands and constructed various civilian and military structures. (Photo: CSlS/VOV) |
Thao said the international community has overwhelmingly condemned China's issuance of its so-called “standard names” for 80 entities in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea), its deployment of aircraft carrier Liaoning and oil survey vessel Haiyang Dizhi 8, and its infringement on the exclusive economic zones of multiple countries.
Vietnam has sufficient evidence to prove its sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes, Ambassador Thao said.
“China's establishment of military bases on semi-submerged sandbars and declaring districts in waters larger than the territory of any nation in ASEAN is a violation of international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and of the sovereignty of countries bordering the East Sea, including Vietnam,” said the diplomat.
“These acts undermine the trust of countries in the process of negotiating the Code of Conduct in the East Sea, flouts the 2016 ruling of the International Court of Arbitration, and restricts the freedom of movement of ships in the East Sea,” he added.