The Vietnam Fisheries Society (VINAFIS) has rejected the Chinese province of Hainan’s unilateral ruling on fishing restrictions in the East Sea and demanded China put an end to such a wrongful act.

Hainan province recently announced all foreign fishing vessels must obtain its approval to enter waters under its jurisdiction as of January 1, 2014

According to its unilateral fishing decision, the claimed waters cover 2 million square kilometres, accounting for almost two thirds of the total area of the East Sea.  

Vessels that enter the area without Hainan’s approval are subject to fines worth up to 500,000 Chinese Yuan (VND1.7 billion).

VINAFIS General Secretary Tran Cao Muu protested against China’s fishing restrictions in the vast East Sea area including Vietnamese waters.

“It is an unreasonable and unacceptable ruling,” he said.

VINAFIS President Nguyen Viet Thang said China has many times made decisions preventing Vietnamese fishermen’s activities within the Vietnamese waters.

The unilateral fishing rules clearly violate the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and do not conform to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), he said, adding that they also violate Vietnam’s Law of the Sea and its sovereignty over sea and islands.

Thang requested relevant agencies strongly condemn China’s new fishing rules and take appropriate measures to prevent such violations, in order to protect Vietnamese fishermen operating in the country’s waters.

The Vietnam Fisheries Society will work closely with relevant agencies to encourage fishermen to set sail, support each other, and abide by international law, he said.