Hanoi has affirmed that the fishing ban for summer 2022 that China unilaterally announced in the South China Sea violates Vietnam’s sovereignty and jurisdiction rights.

Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang of Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: MOFA

Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on April 29, shortly after Beijing issued the three-month ban starting on May 1 that covers part of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel Islands) and the Gulf of Tonkin.

Vietnam demands China respect its sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction over Vietnam’s waters when taking measures to protect maritime resources in the East Sea (referring to the South China Sea), Hang said in a statement.

Hang affirmed that “Part of the fishing ban violates Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa, its sovereign rights and jurisdiction that are provided by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 and the Agreement on Delimitation of the Tonkin Gulf signed in 2000.”

She said Vietnam’s stance on China’s fishing ban remains consistent over the past years.

Since 1999, China has blatantly imposed an annual fishing ban in the South China Sea, preventing legal catching by regional fishermen and vowing to punish cases considered violations. 

Vietnam has kept slamming the ban, saying China must respect Vietnam’s sovereignty over the banned areas.