HANOI – Vietnam took intention at China on Thursday for imposing an annual ban on fishing in an enormous space of the South China Sea, calling it a violation of its sovereignty and urging Beijing to not complicate issues.
China has imposed the ban every year since 1999 and Vietnam routinely opposes it. China says the ban, which is able to apply from May 1 to Aug. 16, is to advertise sustainable fishing and enhance marine ecology.
It covers waters 12 levels north of the equator and contains components of Vietnam’s 200-mile unique financial zone (EEZ) in addition to the Paracel islands, which the 2 international locations have each occupied and have contested for many years.
“China’s so-called fishing ban violates Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and the sovereign rights and jurisdiction in Vietnamese waters and its exclusive economic zone,” Doan Khac Viet, a Vietnam’s overseas ministry spokesperson advised an everyday news briefing.
Hoang Sa is the Vietnamese title for the Paracel Islands.
Viet known as on China to respect Vietnam’s sovereignty and “not to complicate the situation”.
China claims greater than 90% of the doubtless energy-rich South China Sea by way of a U-shaped “nine-dash line” on its maps, which stretches deep into Southeast Asia and cuts into the EEZs of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia.
China has deployed lots of of vessels to bolster its claims, some greater than 1,000 km off its mainland, and has been accused by some neighbors of attempting to disrupt vitality exploration actions.
Last month, Reuters reported based mostly on vessel-tracking knowledge {that a} Vietnamese ship had been despatched to watch a Chinese coast guard vessel patrolling close to a Russian-operated fuel subject in Vietnam’s EEZ unique financial zone, considered one of dozens of such patrols. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
