Trade union slams China’s fishing ban The Vietnam Fisheries Trade Union (VFTU) has objected to China’s fishing ban in the East Sea which began at noon of May 16 and will last until noon of August 1, it announced on May 19.   A fishing vessel of Vietnam is about to depart​. The statement was issued following China’s ban on all fishing activities in the sea from 12 degrees north latitude to the border of the waters of China’s Fujian province and Guangdong province, including the Gulf of Tonkin and Scarborough Shoal. The unilateral ban impacted the fishing activities of Vietnamese fishermen in their traditional fishing grounds and violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago. The VFTU protested and dismissed the illegal ban, declaring it invalid for Vietnamese fishermen. It urged fishermen to continue fishing and support each other at sea, asking them to remain calm and avoid conflicts to mitigate rising tensions in Vietnamese waters. On May 17, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh has voiced the country’s opposition to China’s fishing suspension in the sea areas, including Hoang Sa archipelago, under Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea. He added that Vietnam has sufficient legal foundations and historical evidence testifying to its sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago, as well as its legitimate rights over its sea areas, which are specified in line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. That action by China has seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago, infringed Vietnam’s legitimate rights and interests in its sea areas, and run counter to the spirit and wording of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, Binh emphasised. VNA