VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnamese delegation to the United Nations has protested China’s illegal placement of Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil rig in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone in the East Sea at a UN meeting in New York from May 27-30, according to Vietnam News Agency.

Speaking at the 15th meeting of the UN open-ended informal consultative process on oceans and the law of the sea, the delegation said China illegally installed the rig early this month well within in Vietnam’s 200-nautical-mile EEZ and continental shelf.

China’s unacceptable actions violate Vietnam’s sovereignty and jurisdiction over its EEZ and continental shelf, and international law, especially the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the delegation said.

Worse still, China bans navigation in the area of two nautical miles around the oil rig, and has more than 130 ships, including warships, deployed to the area around the rig to prevent legitimate fishing rights of Vietnam’s fishermen in the traditional Vietnamese fishing ground.

Since early May, many fishing boats of Vietnam have been repeatedly rammed and seriously damaged by aggressive Chinese vessels. Most recently, on May 26, China’s vessels rammed and sank a Vietnamese boat with 10 fishermen on board though it was operating in the traditional fishing ground.

As a littoral country with a 3,200 km coast, Vietnam has determined maritime areas under its sovereign right and jurisdiction under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and issued a legal framework for management, exploration and exploitation of seafood.

The delegation said unilateral actions of littoral states make difficulties for seafood exploitation of other littoral states.

China annually promulgates fishing bans over the maritime areas of the South China Sea’s littoral states, a violation of sovereignty and jurisdiction of these states pursuant to provisions of the UNCLOS, affected to legitimate fishing exploitation of fishermen.

SGT/VNN/VNA