Vietnam demands that China respect and abide by the two sides’ agreement and international laws on maritime territories, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on March 14. 

Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson of Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: Nhat Ha/The Hanoi Times

Vietnam requests China to respect and abide by the 2000 Agreement between Vietnam and China on the delimitation of territorial sea, exclusive economic zones, and continental shelves in the Gulf of Tonkin and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told the regular press briefing.

“Vietnam has and will continue to exchange views with China on this issue in the spirit of friendship, understanding, and mutual respect.,” she said.

Vietnam and China are two countries bordering the Gulf of Tonkin. On  December 25, 2000, the two countries signed the Boundary Delimitation Agreement in the Gulf of Tonkin. This agreement, which entered into force on 30 June 2004, defines the boundaries of each country's territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf in the Gulf of Tonkin.  However, on March 1, 2024, China announced the baseline of the territorial sea in the northern part of the Gulf of Tonkin.

Vietnam maintains that coastal countries must comply with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in determining the baseline used to calculate the breadth of the territorial sea and ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of other countries are not prejudiced, including the right to freedom of navigation, the right to transit through straits used for international navigation and in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,  the spokesperson said.

At the same time, Vietnam reserves its rights and interests under international law as well as the views expressed in the Vietnamese Government's statement of 6 June 1996 on the Chinese Government's statement of 15 May 1996 announcing the baseline used to calculate the breadth of China's territorial sea., Hang added.