South China Sea: Vietnam Criticizes China, Philippines for Violating Sovereign Rights in Disputed Waters

The Vietnamese foreign ministry accused both China and the Philippines of separate incidents that breached its sovereign rights in the disputed waters. The latest criticism comes amidst tensions in the waters China claims to control the majority of.

On Thursday, Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang was pressed on the recent maritime confrontations between China and Vietnam. Such confrontations included a Chinese research ship that transited through Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which was likely a survey, according to experts. Such a survey would have been considered hostile if there was no notification.

Pham Thu Hang said that the Chinese vessels that transited through Vietnam’s EEZ breached “the sovereign rights and jurisdictions of Vietnam,” which was taking “appropriate measures” to reinforce its rights.

Pham Thu Hang also criticized the move by the Philippine Coast Guard to place navigational buoys in five areas of its EEZ to assert sovereignty over the contested Spratly Islands, which Vietnam also has a claim to.

The Philippine foreign ministry spokesperson Teresita Daza told Reuters that the Philippine coast guard’s installation of buoys was consistent with the country’s rights as a coastal state under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“They are meant to improve the safety of navigation in our waters and should be of no cause for concern,” said Daza.

China claims the majority of the South China Sea, citing so-called historical maps, angering the surrounding countries that also have overlapping claims to the waterway. An international tribunal in 2016 ruled against Beijing, saying its so-called historic claims have no basis under international law. China has ignored the ruling and has continued to reassert its claims over the body of water by constructing artificial islands and establishing military outposts on unoccupied ones.

On the same day, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, General Andres Centino, visited troops stationed on a remote island near the Spratlys, where he reminded them that their mission was to “ensure there is peace” while also noting the importance of their role in guarding the country’s territorial waters against potential intruders.

Photo: Alexey Komarov \/Wikimedia Commons(CC by 2.0)