Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Lương Thanh Nghị on January 20 answered media questions on the Chinese agriculture ministry’s announcement on its ban on a fisheries website.

According to the announcement, which was posted on the website on January 12, China will conduct the ban on fishing in the East Sea , including some marine areas of Việt Nam, from 12.00hrs on May 16 to August 1.

The Vietnamese spokesperson affirmed, “Việt Nam has undisputed sovereignty over Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, and sovereign and jurisdiction rights over its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

He stated that the ban violates the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and makes situation in the East Sea more complicated.

He also said that the Foreign Ministry of Việt Nam has met the Chinese side and protested about the actions of China. /.