Vietnam opposes any use of force against its fishing vessels operating normally at sea, threatening the life and safety as well as causing damage to the property and interests of fishermen, running counter to international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS), spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang said on August 31.

Responding to reporters’ queries regarding the information about a Vietnamese fishing boat attacked while operating in the waters of Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel), Hang said competent Vietnamese agencies are urgently verifying the case.

Vietnam has repeatedly affirmed that it has full legal basis and historical evidence to assert its sovereignty over Hoang Sa in line with international law, as well as its sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the waters defined in line with the 1982 UNCLOS, she stressed./.VNA