The authorities of China’s Hainan Province have recently adopted a revised draft of their country’s fisheries law.  Accordingly, they will take strong measures to ban foreign fishing vessels from operating in some territorial waters under their province’s management, including the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos which belong to Viet Nam.  Banishments and seizures of property, along with administrative punishments, will be imposed on violators.

The Chinese Agriculture Ministry has also announced the implementation of a fishing ban in the East Sea, which includes some of Viet Nam’s waters.

The website www.hoangsa.danang.gov.vn

In response to China’s illegal moves, the authorised Chairman of the Da Nang Fishery Association, Mr Tran Van Linh, said that he and other members of his association, which protects the legitimate rights of local fishermen, strongly protest against China’s worthless regulations.  He added that Chinese law enforcement agencies are to be strongly condemned for conducting illegal actions against Vietnamese fishing vessels legally operating in territorial waters belonging to Viet Nam.

In addition to the above-mentioned wrongful actions, China has recently launched a government website of the so-called “Sansha City” and the newspaper Sansha News. 

The Chairman of the Hoang Sa Islands District People’s Committee, Mr Dang Cong Ngu, said that China’s acts strongly violate Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, as well as its sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the East Sea under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Chairman Ngu remarked that the “Sansha City” government and its related activities are totally illegitimate and worthless.  In addition, Hoang Sa is an administrative unit which was established on 11 December 1980 under Decision No 194/HDBT by the Vietnamese Council of Ministers, now known as the Vietnamese Government.  At present, the archipelago is under the control of Da Nang’s authorities.  He added that the islands district’s official website is www.hoangsa.danang.gov.vn which was launched on 29 March 2013.