On the morning of July 17 (local time), at the United Nations headquarter in New York, the US, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs delegation led by Ambassador Trinh Duc Hai, Vice Chairman of the National Boundary Commission, officially presented the Submission of Vietnam’s extended continental shelf in respect of Central Area of the East Sea (South China Sea) to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS).

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang presents the Submission of Vietnam to the representative of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. Photo: VNA

The same day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a Statement regarding Vietnam's submission.

The submission of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles is to exercise the rights and obligations of States Parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as provided in Article 76. Accordingly, when a coastal state has a continental shelf extending beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, the coastal state shall submit relevant information and data to the CLCS for consideration and recommendations on the limits of the extended continental shelf.

The Submission of Vietnam’s continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in respect of the Central Area in the East Sea is Vietnam's third submission. In May 2009, Vietnam submitted a separate Submission in respect of the North Area of the East Sea and a Joint Submission with Malaysia in respect of the southern part of the East Sea.

In the Note Verbale to the Secretary-General of the UN on the Submission of Vietnam’s extended continental shelf in respect of the Central Area, Vietnam reaffirmed that the Submission will not prejudice matters relating to maritime delimitation between Vietnam and relevant coastal states on the basis of UNCLOS.

On this occasion, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang and the Delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam expressed their gratitude for the support of the UN to Vietnam’s submission process in accordance with UNCLOS and relevant rules of CLCS.

On the same day, the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN sent a Note Verbale to the Secretary-General of the UN to state Vietnam's position regarding the Philippines’ Submission on the Limits of the extended continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in the East Sea on June 14, 2024.