Viet Nam called on all countries to actively and pragmatically contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea, and respect international law, said Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Le Hai Binh.

Binh made the statement on January 31 in reply to reporters’ queries regarding Viet Nam’s response to the US’s conduct of a freedom of navigation operation within 12 nautical miles of Tri Ton Island in Viet Nam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago on January 30.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh (Source: VNA)

“Once again, we affirm Viet Nam’s indisputable sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago as well as Truong Sa (Spartly) archipelago,” he said.

As a member country of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), Viet Nam respects innocent passage in territorial waters in line with relevant rules stipulated in international law, especially the convention, the spokesman said.

(Source: VNA)