Regarding Vietnam’s Submission on its Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf
On 8 May 2009, in response to correspondents’ question over Viet Nam’s reaction to the Notes by the Chinese mission dated 7 May 2009 to the UN Secretary General objecting Vietnam’s Submission on its Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf, Mr. Le Dung, Vietnam's Foreign Affairs Spokesman said:
“On 7 May 2009, the Government of Viet Nam submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) its National Submission on its Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the Vietnamese baselines. Earlier, on 6 May 2009, Viet Nam and Malaysia submitted to CLCS a Joint Submission on the outer limits of continental shelves in connection with the two countries. These submissions are a normal activity of member countries to fulfill their obligations under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The content of the diplomatic note by the Chinese side and the map attached have seriously violated Viet Nam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and legitimate jurisdiction in the East Sea. China’s claim for the nine- dotted line on the map attached to its diplomatic note is null and void as it has no legal, historial and factual ground.
Once again, I would like to reaffirm that Viet Nam has sufficient historical evidence and legal foundation to claim its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes."
