China’s illegal construction in the East Vietnam Sea and its possible impacts on regional peace, security, economy and trade are in the agenda of an international workshop slated for today, July 25, in Ho Chi Minh City.

The event, joint organized by the city’s Law University and the Vietnam Lawyer Association, will draw more than 20 law experts and scholars at home and abroad, Professor Mai Hong Quy, rector of the university, said at a press briefing on Friday.

The seminar is regarded as a scientific forum for participants to analyze, discuss and comment on all illegal construction activities by China in the East Vietnam Sea and their impacts on various fields, including peace, security, and maritime safety and security, in the region as well as the world, Prof. Quy said.

Since 2014, China has carried out land reclamation work and built artificial islands atop seven reefs belonging to Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly), with a view to illegally claim its exclusive sovereignty in the East Vietnam Sea, the professor said.

As seen from the angle of international law, China’s construction of artificial islets in the waters completely runs counter to the 1982 UNCLOS and political commitments between China and ASEAN and Vietnam, especially the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), the event’s organizing board said.

Such actions have seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over Truong Sa and threatened peace, security, economy, trade, and maritime and aviation freedom and aviation in the region and the world, the board said. 

The seminar will clarify the serious impacts the artificial islands recently built by China may have on the environment in the East Vietnam Sea, on economic and trading activities in the sea area, and on maritime and aviation freedom in the South East Asia, Prof. Quy said.

“These issues are very important to the region and the world,” he added.  

Among the speakers at the event are Professor of International Law Erik Franckx from Vrije Universiteit Brussels, member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

In an interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper ahead of the seminar, Prof. Franckx said that China’s recent actions on the East Vietnam Sea reflects a clear phenomenon in which a power in the region bullies a smaller neighboring country.

The issue here is that China should have complied with regulations of the UNCLOS as it is a party to this international law, the professor said.  

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