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| Map charting the Arbitration Tribunals Findings (Click Image to Enlarge) |
VietNamNet Bridge - Major General Le Van Cuong, former director of the Institute of Strategy Studies, the Ministry of Public Security, told Dan Tri online newspaper that the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands on the Philippines’ lawsuit against China’s nine-dash line claims in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) is a break-through for Vietnam’s struggle to defend its legitimate rights and interests and sovereignty in the East Sea.
Q: The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on July 12 ruled that there is no legal foundation for China’s U-shaped line claims in the East Sea. What do you think of the ruling?
Le Van Cuong: I think this is a very honest judgment, in accordance with objective and historical reality. I fully believe in international justice and the verdict of the Tribunal. China does not have any legal basis for the 9-dotted line claims.
The Tribunal's ruling again rejected the absurd claims of China with the so-called "sovereignty in the East Sea." This also means that Beijing's claims over Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands is entirely illegal, regardless of international law.
Before the PCA made the ruling, China had made a series of aggressive actions in the East Sea, such as invading Vietnam’s Hoang Sa on January 19th 1974 and Vietnam’s seven reefs on March 14 1988. China's actions violated point 3, item 4 of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations, Resolution 2625 of the UN General Assembly and generally international law.
Therefore, the PCA’s ruling on July 12 is extremely important. It reflects the voice of conscience, of progressive human kind and indirectly urges the international community to be alert and take tough measures against China's actions to deliberately cause tension in the East Sea.
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