Vietnamese fishermen operate at the Hoang Sa fishing ground. (Photo: thanhnien.vn)

The document was lodged to the Government Office, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations on Monday. 

According to the Society, Chinese media has announced China’s annual summer fishing ban in the waters north of the East Sea to run from May 1 to August 16, covering a part of the Gulf of Tonkin and Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago.

The Society said China’s regulation violates Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago, Vietnam's legal rights and interests over its waters, and international laws, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It inhibits fishing activities of Vietnamese fishermen, the Society added. 

The Vietnam Fisheries Society strongly opposes China’ actions, which Vietnamese fishermen are not legally bound to abide with legitimate rights to fish in Vietnam’s territorial waters.