PhuYen (VNA) – Fishermen in the central coastal province of Phu Yen has been encouraged to maintainfishing activities in Vietnam’s territorial waters after China promulgated a temporary ban on fishing activitiesin the East Sea.

In a recent document, the provincial People’s Committee said the ban isworthless as it prohibited fishing activities in Vietnam’s territorial waters.

It asked the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, theprovincial Department of Information and Communications, the provincial BorderGuard Command, and press agencies to inform local fishermen about China’sfishing ban, while calling on local fishermen to organise fishing activities ingroups to easily support each other in case of necessity.

Fishing vessels licensed to go fishing in the shared fishinggrounds in the Gulf of Tonkin in 2017-2018 shouldnot operate in the eastern area of thedemarcation line in the Gulf from May 1to August 16, the document said.

The provincial People’s Committee assigned the Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development to work with the provincial Border GuardCommand to strictly manage and control the departure of fishing boats and theiroffshore fishing trips during the period, thus promptly informing sudden situationsarising at sea to the committee.

In a recent announcement, the Chinese Ministry ofAgriculture said that the fishing ban would last from May 1 to August 16, 2018,covering the East Sea, including the Gulf of Tonkin and Vietnam’s territorialwaters.

In response to China’s move, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MARD) has said that China’s temporary ban is null.

The Vietnam Fisheries Society (VINAFIS) has also voicedits protest against China’s unilateral decision to ban fishing in the EastSea, saying that it has no validity. 

The ban hampers fishing activities of Vietnamesefishermen and violates Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagoand territorial waters in the Tonkin Gulf as well as its legitimate rights andinterests.

It also infringes international law, includingthe 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and relatedinternational legal documents, and runs counter to the spirit and wording ofthe Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (DOC) signedbetween ASEAN and China in 2002. 

China’s unilateral action is not in line with thedevelopment trend of Vietnam-China relations and is not beneficial to peace andstability in the region, the association said. 

The VINAFIS urged Vietnamese authorities to takeeffective measures to stop China’s action and increase patrols in the sea toprotect fishermen and facilitate their fishing activities in Vietnam’sterritorial waters.-VNA