Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang

Hang was responding to a reporter's question the 9th anniversary of the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the East Sea arbitration case between the Philippines and China under Annex VII of UNCLOS (July 12).

She emphasized that Vietnam’s stance had already been clearly expressed in statements by the ministry’s spokesperson on July 12 in 2016 and 2021, and again on July 15, 2023.

Hang stated that the relevant parties must respect the rights of other nations and fully comply with their legal obligations under UNCLOS. “They must cooperate to actively and constructively contribute to maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and overflight, and order in the East Sea in line with international law.

As both an UNCLOS member state and a country bordering the East Sea, Vietnam considers the 1982 UNCLOS the sole legal basis comprehensively and thoroughly defining the scope of the right to maritime entitlements, she stressed.

“All maritime claims by UNCLOS member states must be consistent with its provisions. Countries must fully respect the sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction of coastal states as established in accordance with the 1982 UNCLOS,” she said.