Vietnam protests Taiwan action over Spratlys
Vietnam said on Saturday Taiwan had violated Vietnamese sovereignty by driving Vietnamese fishing boats away in the Spratly Islands and the confrontation caused instability and could endanger peace.
The Spratly Islands, a cluster of potentially oil- and gas-rich isles and reefs in the South China Sea, are claimed wholly or in part by China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.
"Recent acts by Taiwan in the seas near Ban Than islet in the Spratlys archipelago, especially the driving off of Vietnamese fishing boats, are violations of Vietnam's sovereignty," the Vietnam News daily quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung as saying. "Such acts caused instability and were counter to the common trend of peace, stability and development in the region," Dung said.
In Taipei, the Foreign Ministry declined to comment, saying it was "dealing with the matter."
Vietnam advocates a "one China" policy, recognizing only Beijing and not Taipei, but maintains close commercial ties with Taiwan, which is Vietnam's second biggest foreign investor.
In the recent incident, Taiwan patrol boats expelled Vietnamese fishing vessels from waters near Ban Than islet.
It was the latest in a long series of confrontations between the rival claimants.
In September Vietnam detained a Chinese fishing boat and its crew for illegally operating in Vietnamese waters. The vessels and its crew were freed after five days.
China imposed a ban on fishing in the South China Sea from August, a decision Vietnam vehemently opposed.
In July, Vietnam said it aimed to expand its deep-sea fishing in the area with a plan to install a US$1.29 million fisheries logistics center on the Spratlys islands.
Vietnam is considering its first-ever tours to the Spratlys but details have yet to be worked out.
China Post (.tw) - November 02, 2003.
Vietnam reiterates sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes
HANOI - Viet Nam's Foreign Ministry's spokesman Le Dung on Friday reiterated Viet Nam's indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes.
"We have stated many times that Viet Nam has full historical evidence and a legal basis to prove our indisputable sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes," Dung stressed in his reply to the Voice of Viet Nam Radio's query regarding Taiwain's recent violations of Viet Nam's sovereignty at Ban Than area on Truong Sa archipelago.
Dung described Taiwan's recent operations at Ban Than area on Truong Sa archipelago, especially its driving Vietnamese fishing vessels away, as a violation of Viet Nam's sovereignty. This act has caused instability and runs counter to the common trend of peace, stability and development in the region, he emphasised.
"Viet Nam demands that Taiwan put an immediate end to such violations of Viet Nam's sovereignty and guarantee that such acts will not happen again in the future," the spokesman added.
He futher said that Viet Nam has always advocated settling disputes on the East Sea (South China Sea) through peaceful negotiations on the basis of respect for international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 1992 Manila Declaration on the East Sea and the November, 2002 Declaration on the Code of Conduct of concerned Parties of the East Sea.
While intensive efforts are being made to hasten negotiations towards a long lasting and fundamental solution to these disputes, the concerned parties should maintain stability in the status quo and refrain from taking any action to further complicate the situation, spokesman Dung concluded.
Vietnam News Agency - October 31, 2003.
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