As a sovereign state over the Hoang Sa (Spratly) and Truong Sa (Paracel) archipelagos in the East Sea and a member of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Vietnam has always respected the freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea on the basis of the Convention’s relevant provisions and regulations of the littoral countries.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh made the remark on October 29 in reply to a reporter’s question about Vietnam’s reaction to US ships sailing through some geological structure areas of the Spratly islands of Vietnam.
“Vietnam calls for concerned parties to actively contribute to the maintenance of peace, stability, security and maritime and aviation safety in the East Sea on the basis of respect for international law, including the UNCLOS and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), " the official said.
