Deputy Head of the Department on Law and International Treaty under the Foreign Ministry Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet

(VOVworld)- Vietnam aims to resolve disputes in the East Sea, including that on sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, by peaceful means while advocating the employment of peaceful measures in compliance with international laws. Deputy Head of the Department on Law and International Treaty under the Foreign Ministry Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet was speaking at a seminar in London on Friday that Vietnam welcomes active contributions made by all countries in and outside the region to maintaining peace and stability, and ensuring maritime freedom, security, and safety in the East Sea. She told the international seminar on order held by the UK Hydrographic Office, the King’s College and the Public International Law Firm Volterra Fietta that Vietnam has worked together with other ASEAN members in building important documents to preserve peace and stability in the East Sea, including the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) in 2002, and the bloc’s Six-point Principle on the East Sea in July, 2012. While making efforts to speed up the making of a Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC), Vietnam is striving to safeguard peace and stability in the region by maintaining the status quo, not complicating the situation, and neither taking any violent actions nor threatening to use force. Regarding sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, Vietnamese representatives said that Vietnam has sufficient legal and historical evidence to prove that the country has exercised its sovereignty over the two archipelagos continuously and peacefully since the 17th century. On overlapping sea areas, Vietnam’s policy is to negotiate to seek an equitable and satisfactory solution for concerned parties based on international law.