The Vietnam Fisheries Society (Vinafis) has strongly condemned China’srecent fishing ban in the East Sea, deeming the unilateral actionirrational and void.

In a statement sent to theVietnamese Government Office, the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, the Foreign Ministry, and Party Central Committee’sCommission for External Relations, Vinafis said the authorities ofHaikou city in China’s southernmost Hainan province have announced a banon all fishing activities in the sea from 12 degrees northern latitudeto the border of the waters of China’s Guangdong province with Fujianprovince (including the Tonkin Gulf), which is in effect from 12:00 noonon May 16 to 12:00 noon on August 1, 2015.

The act has been repeated for many years, hindering Vietnamese fishing,causing a declined output and economic damages while violating Vietnam’ssovereign right and jurisdiction over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and TruongSa (Spratly) archipelagos in line with the 1982 UN Convention on theLaw of the Sea, Vinafis said.

It also requestedagencies concerned devise effective measures to end the ban as soon aspossible and drive away Chinese vessels taking advantage of the ban toconduct illegal fishing and other activities in Vietnam’s waters.

Vinafis also asked for regular presence of law enforcement vessels atsea to protect fishermen from China’s bullying, enabling them to make aliving in Vietnamese waters.-VNA