Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh repeated Vietnam’s stance on the East Sea issue at the regular press conference in Hanoi on July 14, two days after the issuance of the ruling on the Philippines’s case against China’s territorial claims in the waters.
He briefed reporters about the Foreign Ministry’s statement sent to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on December 5, 2014, noting that Vietnam supported the adherence and full implementation of all regulations and procedures stated in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), including those on the settlement of disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention by peaceful measures.
The country reserves its rights and legal interests in the East Sea, including the sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, along with the rights and interests at sea areas defined as pursuant to the UNCLOS.
Binh added that in the statement, Vietnam said it hoped the PCA would interpret and apply UNCLOS’s relevant regulations in the Philippines’s case to issue a fair and objective ruling. It also asked the PCA to take due regard of its rights and interests in the East Sea.
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