Ratified by 168 parties, UNCLOS has truly become a legal document of leading importance. Photo: Unclos.jpg

An international conference was held in Hanoi on December 8 to mark 40 years since the adoption of the 1982 UNCLOS, Nhan dan (People) newspaper reported.

The hybrid event, held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was attended by 150 delegates from ministries, sectors, coastal localities, and representative bodies of ASEAN countries in Vietnam.

In his remarks, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu said having been ratified by 168 parties, UNCLOS has truly become a legal document of leading importance, only after the UN Charter, and a “constitution of the seas and oceans”.

The convention formed a comprehensive and full international legal framework that regulates the rights and obligations of all states, no matter whether it is coastal or landlocked, in the use of the seas and the management, exploitation, and conservation of marine resources, he noted.

UNCLOS is a comprehensive international legal cornerstone for identifying sea areas, sovereignty, sovereign right, and jurisdiction over sea areas, and for conducting activities at sea. It also stipulates compulsory dispute settlement mechanisms to peacefully resolve differences relevant to the interpretation and application of UNCLOS among countries, according to the official.

The conference held a panel session to highlight the special values of UNCLOS and another on Vietnam’s implementation of the convention.

At the conference, experts, scientists, and managers focused on analyzing, evaluating, and clarifying the results achieved in sea and island work in general and information, propaganda and education work about Vietnam's seas and islands after 10 years of the promulgation of the Law of the Sea and 40 years of adoption of the UNCLOS 1982.

Delegates affirmed that, as a responsible member country of UNCLOS 1982, Vietnam has gradually built and perfected its legal system to create a legal environment for the marine management and sustainable development activities, serving national socio-economic development, industrialization, modernization, and international integration.

The clearest evidence showing Vietnam's substantive contribution is the Vietnam Sea Law, a comprehensive national law on the sea, passed by the National Assembly on June 21, 2012, officially taking effect from January 1, 2013. The Law of the Sea fully regulates the legal regime of maritime zones under Vietnam's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, and the rights and obligations of coastal states in identified maritime zones in accordance with the provisions of UNCLOS.

Vietnam has also researched, drafted, and promulgated many specialized legal documents on different maritime fields to concretize the rights and obligations of relevant entities.

Laws and systems of documents on the sea are an important legal basis for Vietnam to implement and ensure its rights and obligations under UNCLOS, effectively deploy management, protection, exploitation, and use of the sea in accordance with the provisions of international law.

Delegates at the conference also affirmed that in the coming time, Vietnam needs to continue promoting, upholding the good values of UNCLOS 1982, and perfecting Vietnam's marine policies and documents. It is also important to promote international cooperation activities in the marine field; proactively learn from other countries' experiences in the adoption of UNCLOS regulations to effectively use and manage the seas and oceans; and actively contribute initiatives at mechanisms and forums under United Nations framework on seas and oceans...

In addition, delegates also discussed and proposed many solutions and tasks to promote information, propaganda and education about the country's seas and islands.

The hybrid event, held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was attended by 150 delegates from ministries, sectors, coastal localities, and representative bodies of ASEAN countries in Vietnam. Photo: VGP

In their remarks sent to the workshop, Tommy Koh, former President of the third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, and Vladimir Jares, Director of the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, stressed the importance of UNCLOS and Vietnam’s contributions to the UNCLOS drafting and implementation process.

Participants shared the view that over the past 40 years, UNCLOS has not only properly served as a constitution of the oceans but also contributed to the formation and protection of the international legal order of the seas and oceans, as well as to the maintenance of peace, security, stability, and international cooperation at sea.

They said that bordering the South China Sea (Bien Dong Sea) and being a member of UNCLOS, Vietnam has always been well aware of the role and importance of the seas to national peace, security, and development.

They also affirmed the importance of respecting and fully and responsibly implementing regulations in UNCLOS, protecting the legal order of the seas and oceans, and promoting cooperation amid complex developments in the South China Sea.

Fishing vessels of Quang Tri provincePhoto: VNA)

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Prof. Carl Thayer, University of New South Wales, Australia, said Vietnam has an extensive coastline running 3,444 km (excluding offshore features). UNCLOS provides the legal basis for Vietnam to promulgate the coordinates for its territorial sea, contiguous zone, EEZ and continental shelf and to peacefully resolve disputes with its neighbors.

UNCLOS provides a comprehensive legal framework for ocean governance and includes customary international law as well as new legal concepts. UNCLOS is referred to as the “Constitution for the Oceans.” It replaces a patchwork of legal claims and practices by coastal states by clearly setting out the limits on the territorial sea, contiguous zone, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf.

UNCLOS was a compromise between coastal states and maritime powers. Many coastal states were former colonies and developing countries. All coastal states were given sovereign jurisdiction over the marine resources in waters forming their EEZs and the hydrocarbons (oil and gas), minerals and other resources on their continental shelves, he said.

The Convention was adopted by the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea and opened for signature, together with the Final Act of the Conference, at Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 10 December 1982. The Conference was convened pursuant to resolution 3067 adopted by the General Assembly on 16 November 1973, according to the UN Treaty Collection.

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