(VOVworld) – Vietnamese expatriates and locals in the Czech Republic marched in Prague on Tuesday to support the recent ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, the Netherlands on the East Sea issue.

(Photo: VOV)

Pham Hong Thai, one of the event’s organizers, briefed demonstrators on the PCA’s ruling on the Philippines lawsuit against China’s claims in the East Sea. He highlighted the significance of the ruling, which rejected China’s “nine-dash line” in the East Sea and its claim to “historical rights” to natural resources in the area.

A statement was issued in English and Czech welcoming the PCA’s judgment and the peaceful settlement of disputes in line with international law. The statement urged claimants to honor the ruling and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and asked China to immediately stop its militarization and threats against fishermen in the area, which raises tensions.

Organizers distributed leaflets in English and Czech to explain the ruling to locals and foreign tourists. An explaination was also given by Marcel Winter, a Czech friend of the Vietnamese community, who said he attended the meeting to support Vietnam’s efforts to safeguard its maritime sovereignty and appreciated Vietnam’s policy of peacefully resolving disputes in the East Sea on the basis of international law, which, he believed, would yield fruitful results. He suggested that China should honor the PCA’s ruling and international law in general.