(VOVWORLD) -Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Wednesday refuted China’s unilateral suspension of fishing in the waters of Vietnam's sovereignty, saying it has violated Vietnam's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the East Sea and is invalid.
 Fishermen catching fish in Vietnamese waters. Source: VNA
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The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has imposed a fishing ban from 12:00pm (China time) on May 1 to 12:00pm on August 16 in the waters north of 12 degrees north latitude, including the Gulf of Tonkin.
In its dispatch, the Vietnamese Ministry requested the administrations of coastal localities to immediately notify fishermen of China’s unilateral fishing ban, and to encourage them to continue their normal production activities within the waters of Vietnam.
It instructed fishermen to form groups and teams when going out to sea to support each other, and promptly report any violations by foreign fishing vessels in the Vietnamese waters.
The ministry directed relevant agencies to strengthen the supervision of fishing activities through vessel monitoring system, issue warnings to fishing vessels when necessary, and especially strictly manage the entry and exit of fishing vessels.