Vietnam urges China to respect, comply to Boundary Delimitation Agreement in the Gulf of Tonkin
Vietnam requests that China respect and comply with the Agreement on the delimitation of the territorial sea, exclusive economic zones and continental shelf between the two countries in the Tonkin Gulf signed in 2000, and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), said Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang.
Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam requests that China respect and complywith the Agreement on the delimitation of the territorial sea, exclusiveeconomic zones and continental shelf between the two✅ countries in the TonkinGulf signed in 2000, and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of theSea (UNCLOS), said Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang.
The spokeswoman made the statement at the ministry’s regular press conference in Hanoi on March 14 in response to reporters’ question regarding China's recent declarationof the straight baselines in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Hang noted that Vietnam and Chinaare the two countries bordering the Gulf o🀅f Tonkin. On December 25, 2000, theysigned the Vietnam-China Agreement on the delimitation of the territorial sea, exclusive economic zones and continental shelf, also known as the Vietnam-China Boundary DelimitationAgreement in the Gulf of Tonkin, which took effect on June 30, 2004. Thisagreement delineates the maritime boundaries, exclusive economic zones, andcontinental shelves of each country within the Gulf.
Vietnam holds that coastal states must comply with the 1982 UNCLOS when determining the baseline used to measure thebreadth of the territorial sea, ensuring that such actions do not affect the legitimaterights and interests of other countries, including the right to navigation freedom,the right to transit passage through straits used for international navigation, asguaranteed by the 1982 UNCLOS, Hang said. Vietnam has and will continue exchanging viewpointswith China regarding this issue in the spirit of friendship, mutual understandingand respect, she said, adding that Vietnam reserves its legal rights and interestsunder international law as well as the view expressed in the VietnameseGovernment’s Declaration on June 6, 1996 concerning the Chinese Government’s Declarationon May 15, 1996 on the baseline used to measure the breadth of the territorialsea of China. Hang stressed that like all other relationships,the differences in the relationship between countries, in this case Vietnam andChina, should always be discussed by the two involved countries./.
The coast guard forces of Vietnam and China conducted a joint patrol on the waters adjacent to the two countries’ delimitation line in the Gulf of Tonkin from April 11 – 13.
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The coast guards of Vietnam and China conducted a joint patrol from November 29 to December 1 on the waters adjacent to the demarcation line in the Gulf of Tonkin, contributing to strengthening peace, stability and the rule of law at sea.
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Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang (Photo: VNA) 
