Illegal construction in the East Sea and its impact on regional peace,security, economy and trade will be put on the table at an internationalseminar in Ho Chi Minh City on July 25.

Over 20law experts and scholars at home and abroad will attend and presenttheir papers at the event, Professor Mai Hong Quy, Rector of Ho Chi MinhCity University of Law told a press briefing on July 24.

The seminar will provide a scientific forum for participants toanalyse and comment on the full picture of illegal constructionactivities in the East Sea and their impacts on peace, security,economics, trade, maritime and aviation in the region and the world, theprofessor said.

Professor of International Law ErikFranckx from Vrije Universiteit Brussels, member of the Permanent Courtof Arbitration in The Hague, will be among speakers.

According to Prof. Quy, reports sent to the seminar focus on legalmatters related to man-made islets and buildings in line with the 1982United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as well astheir impacts on regional peace, security, economy and trade.

The seminar is co-organised by the Vietnam Lawyers Association and the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law.

The organising board said as seen from the angle of international law,China’s construction of artificial islets in the East Sea completelyruns counter to the 1982 UNCLOS and political commitments between Chinaand ASEAN and Vietnam, especially the Declaration on the Conduct ofParties in the East Sea (DOC).

Such actions haveseriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over Truong Sa (Spratly)archipelago and threatened peace, security, economy, trade, maritime andaviation freedom and aviation, scientific studies and marineenvironment of countries in the region and the world.-VNA