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HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam opposed and resolutely rejected China’s unilateral decision to ban fishing in the East Sea, covering Việt Nam’s waters, from May 1 to August 16, 2019, said Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lê Thị Thu Hằng.
Hang made the statement while answering reporters’ query regarding China’s fishing ban on May 4. 
She elaborated that the ban violated Việt Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) Archipelago as well as the country’s legitimate rights and interests in its sea areas. 
It also infringed on international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS), and ran counter to the spirit and wording of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, and the Việt Nam-China agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of issues at sea, Hằng added. 
“Việt Nam has sufficient legal grounds and historical evidence testifying its sovereignty over Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, and legitimate rights over its waters in conformity with the 1982 UNCLOS,” the spokesperson said.
Measures to preserve organism resources should be taken in line with the 1982 UNCLOS and not harm sovereign rights and jurisdiction at seas around the countries concerned, she noted.— VNS