Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear comrades and countrymen!

In an atmosphere when the whole country is enthusiastically celebrating the success of the XI National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the election of the National Assembly, 13th legislature, and the People’s Council, the 2011-2016 tenure, we are happy to be here to organise the national grand meeting in response to the World Ocean Day (June 8) and the 2011 Islands and Sea Week of Vietnam (June 01- June 08).

On behalf of the Government, I would like to send my best regards and greetings to all the representatives, distinguished guests and the entire people and soldiers.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear comrades and countrymen!

Islands and the sea occupy an extremely important position in the social and economic development of almost all the nations in the world. Nowadays in the condition that the in-land natural resources have become ever more exhausted, the traditional economic space ever narrower, so, many nations are heading to the sea to search for and exploit the resources to guarantee their requirements of materials, fuel, energy and foods. Islands and the sea have become a huge economic source and a new space of existence and at the same time have important significance for security and national defence.


Vietnam is a littoral country with its coast line being 3,260km long, thousands of big and small islands, including the offshore archipelagos, the exclusive economic zones and large continental shelf. The sea of Vietnam has an abundant and diverse resources with relatively large reserves and size, thus allowing us to develop a lot of important sea economic areas such as catching, aquaculturing and processing the sea products; sea ports and marine shipping; ship repair and building; exploitation of mineral resources; tourism and communications. In recent years, the sources of income brought about by the sea have made a great contribution to the process of the national development. It is estimated that at present the volume of the marine and marine-related economies occupies 48% of the country’s GDP.

As far as the marine economic sectors are concerned, the contributions made by the economic activities at sea have occupied up to 98%, mainly the oil and gas exploitation, aquaproducts and shipping business (ocean shipping and sea port services), sea tourism and so on. However, we are facing a lot of acute challenges concerning the protection of islands and the sea; the exploitation of sea resources and environment; the decline in the fisheries resources, biodiversity and other marine biological systems and the marine environmental polution.

The 4th Plenum of the 10th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam passed the Resolution on Vietnam’s Marine Strategy to the year 2020, striving to take Vietnam to become a strong country in the sea, making rich from the sea, developing all-sidedly the marine jobs and trades in combination with the modern and abundant structure, thus creating a rapid, sustainable and highly effective development with a long-term vision. By 2020, the marine economy will strive to contribute about 53% to 55% of GDP, 55% to 60% of export turnover of the whole country, settling satisfactorily all the social issues and improving considerably the people’s life in the sea and coastal areas.
    
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear comrades and countrymen!

Together with the decision on establishing the General Department of Islands and the Sea of Vietnam under the Ministry of Resources and Environment with its State function of overall and unified management of the sea and islands of the country, the annual organisation of the Islands and the Sea Week of Vietnam on June 01 to June 08 and the response to the World Ocean Day is of great importance. This is the annual event of national scope with the aim of making an extensive propaganda work among the sectors and branches and the people of all strata concerning the position, role and potential of Vietnam’s islands and the sea in the construction and defence of the Fatherland.

This year with the theme “The Mind of Vietnam, the Youth of Vietnam for the sustainable development of islands and the sea of the Fatherland”, the Islands and the Sea Week of Vietnam is organised in the coastal city of Nha Trang, Khánh Hoà province – a famous and beautiful tourism city, a dynamic city with its all-sided development potential of Khánh Hoà province and the Southern part of Central Vietnam of the country. I highly appreciate the efforts of the Ministry of Resources and Environment, the People’s Committee of Khánh Hoà province, the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the concerned ministries, sectors and mass organisations for their joint organisation of this important event. This is the opportunity for us to reaffirm once again our will and determination to defend the Fatherland’s sacred islands and sea areas and in response to the activities to cope with the climate change and to protect sea environment for the sustainable development of our planet.

On the occasion of this important event, we find it necessary to continue our affirmation and organise the satisfactory implementation of the following important tasks:

Firstly, continue to strongly reaffirm and express the highest will and determination of the entire Party, people and army in defending Vietnam’s sovereignty, the right to sovereignty and jurisdiction over all the islands and sea areas of the Fatherland.

For generations, one generation after another, our forefathers had shed sea of sweats and even blood to defend and protect the Fatherland’s sacred islands and sea areas. Nowadays we need to apply in a creative manner the historical lessons, combining the national strength with the epochal strength, raising high justice, promoting internal strength together with winning the sympathy of the international community to firmly defend our sovereignty over islands and the sea and the marine economic activities. We continue to reaffirm Vietnam’s undeniable sovereignty over the Paracels and the Spratly, reaffirm Vietnam’s sovereignty and the right to sovereignty over the sea areas, the exclusive economic zones and the continental shelf in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Vietnamese people, the Vietnamese land, with full will, determination and general strength of the whole nation, will defend and protect their islands and sea areas. We persistently hold for the settlement of all disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means on the basis of international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and at the same time we vehemently protest and resolutely struggle against all the activities violating our sea sovereignty and legitimate interests.

While we are persistently striving to look for the long-term and fundamental solution, Vietnam requests all the concerned parties to restrain themselves not to have any activities that can complicate further the situation in the East Sea, adhere to their commitment to settle the disputes by peaceful means on the basis of the principles of the international law, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and five principles of peaceful co-existence, enhance the efforts to build trust and multilateral co-coperation on the sea safety, carry out the scientific research work and fight against criminals; together seriously implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) signed in 2002 by the ASEAN countries as one side and by China as the other side in a move to build the Code of Conduct so that the South China Sea will become really a sea area of peace, stability, friendship and development, in the interest of all the countries in the region, for the common security of the region and the whole world.

Holding firmly the territorial sovereignty, peace and stability in the East Sea is an issue of overall character. The settlement of all the arising problems in the East Sea should be placed in the total strategy of the country’s social and economic development and in the foreign policy of peace, independence and sovereignty, diversification and multilateralization of all the international relations; not to let the reactionary forces find ways and means to take advantage to attack and sabotage the leadership of the Party and the State, distort and divide the international relations between our country and the concerned countries.

Secondly, to continue to perfect the system of mechanism, policy and law on the islands and the sea, manage the sea resources and environment, form the synchronised basis of legislation and organise the implementation in an effective way so as to keep close control, preserve and exploit efffectively the sources from the sea for the country’s development and the people’s benefits.

Thirdly, to combine closely the social and economic development with the guarantee of national defence, security, international co-operation and environmental protection; to combine the development of the sea, coastal and island areas with the development of the delta and urban areas in the orientation of accelerating the national industrialization and modernization.   

To have suitable policy to form strong businesses and at the same time to mobilize the domestic economic sectors and international resources to effectively exploit the potentials from the islands and the sea; making ever more contributions to the State budget, quickly raising the volume of the marine economy for the growth of the whole economy.

To enhance and take the synchronized measures in an effective way to protect the fishermen, the forces getting involved in doing business and other legal activities in the country’s islands and sea areas.

In the economic development in general and the marine economic development in particular, it is necessary to combine it with environmental protection, taking the prevention of pollution as the guideline of activities, overcome and get rid of all the ideas that run after the immediate interests and belittle the environmental maintenance, protection and recreation, display to the maximum and diversify all the sources of invesment for environmental protection, mobilize social resources for environmental protection and the protection of the sea and island resources.

Fourthly, to enhance the scientific and technological research work concerning the marine economic management and development for the sustainable exploitation and use of the sea resources and environmental protection; to effectively cope with climate change, the rise of sea level, reduce to the maximum the decline of the island and sea resources, sea biodiversity and sea ecological systems.

Fifthly, to continue to expand and enhance the friendly co-operation with the nations in the region and the world as well as with the international organisations in the island-and-sea-related issues on the basis of respect of sovereignty and national interest and international law, guarantee security and safety of international maritime, together build the region of peace, stability, co-operation and development.

Sixthly, all the ministries, sectors, the political and social organisations and local administrations should continue to well carry out the propaganda and educational work and raise high the awareness of the islands and the sea of the Fatherland, of the sea resources and environmental protection; turning this awareness into the sense of consciousness and concrete and practical actions in each level, sector, business and each Vietnamese.

With the high determination and great efforts of the entire Party, people and army, displaying the spirit of patriotic emulation and the love of islands and sea, we believe that all the above-said important tasks will be satisfactorily and effectively fulfilled, making a practical contribution to successfully implementing the Resolution of the Party’s 11th Congress, all for the objectives of building a socialist Vietnam of rich people, powerful country, democracy, equality and civilization./.