spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Phạm Thu Hằng. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam once again affirmed that its sovereignty over Hoàng Sa (Paracel) and Trường Sa (Spratly) is in accordance with international law and legitimate rights over its territorial waters established in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Phạm Thu Hằng said on Thursday.

Responding to a reporter's question regarding the Philippines' submission of an Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) claim in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), Hằng said coastal states, as parties to the 1982 UNCLOS, have the right to determine their outer continental shelf boundaries in line with relevant provisions of the 1982 UNCLOS.

However, when submitting their ECS claims, coastal states must respect the legal and legitimate rights and interests of other relevant coastal nations with opposite or adjacent coasts, she said.

Accordingly, Việt Nam asserts its full rights and interests under international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS, and stays ready to discuss with the Philippines to seek and achieve a solution that is mutually beneficial for both countries, the spokeswoman stressed. — VNS