The National border of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is sacred and inalienable. Building, managing and protecting the national border are of special important significance to the territorial integrity and national sovereignty, making a contribution to maintaining political stability, economic and social development, strengthening national defence and security of the country.

To intensify the State managerial force concerning the national border; to build a border of peace, friendship, long-lasting stability with the neighbouring countries;


Based on the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam already amended and added in accordance with Resolution N0. 51/2001/QH 10 on December  25, 2001 of the National Assembly, 10th legislature, 10th session;

This Law provides the national border.



Article 1

The national border of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the straight line and plane, standing on that line to determine the boundary of the land territories, islands and archipelagoes, in which there are the Paracel and the Spratly archipelagoes, the sea space, subsoil and the sky space of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Article 2

This stipulates the national border; the legal status about the national border; builds, manages and protects the national border and the border areas.
    The legal status, the mechanism of management and protection of the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam stipulated by the Vietnam Law are in conformity with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and other international treaties Vietnam has signed or joined.

Article 3

Agencies, organizations and individuals (hereby called in general organizations and individuals) are rested with responsibility to abide by the provisions of this Law and other provisions of the related law; in case international treaty Vietnam has signed or joined have different provisions, then these provisions of that international treaty are to be applied.

Article 4

In this Law, the following words are understood as follows:
1. The baseline is the broken line connecting the points chosen at the lowest tide waterline along the coast and the coastline islands determined and proclaimed by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
2. The contiguous zone is located adjacent to the territorial sea with the width of 12 nautical miles.
3. The exclusive economic zone is a maritime zone adjacent to the territorial sea and includes the territorial sea into the breadth of 200 nautical miles from its baselines, except for the case international treaty between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the relevant States have the different provisions.
4. The continental shelf is the sea and subsoil in the seabed belonging to the part of natural prolongation of the continent that extends to the territorial sea to the outer edge of the continental margin, in which Vietnam, a littoral State, has the right to sovereignty and jurisdiction as determined in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, except for the case international treaty between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the relevant State have the different provisions.

5. The national boundary marker is a physical marker that identifies the start of a land boundary of a State.
6. The border construction project is a project built to fix the State border line, a project in service of management and protection of the national border.
7. The border gate is a place where all the exit, entrance and transit, export and import activities are performed and traveling through the national border including road border gate, rail border gate, inland water way border gate, maritime line border gate and air line border gate.
8. Boats and ships are the means operating on the water surface and underwater; they include ships and boats and other motorized or non-motorized means.
9. Passage through without doing harm to the territorial waters are foreign boats and ships in the territorial waters of Vietnam without doing harm to peace, security, order and ecological environment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as provided by the Vietnam law and the 1982 US Convention on the Law of the Sea.
10. Air plane is a means of operation in the sky including air planes, gliders, balloons and other flying means.

Article 5

1. The national border is determined by the international treaty signed or participated by Vietnam or stipulated by the Vietnamese law.
2. The inland national border is fixed or marked in the field by the world marker system.
3. The national border on the sea fixed and marked by the co-ordinates on the maritime map is the boundary outside the territorial waters of mainland, territorial waters of islands and territorial waters of archipelagoes of Vietnam determined according to the 1982 US Convention of the Law on the Sea and the international treaties between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the concerned States.
    The border lines outside the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf determines the right to sovereignty and jurisdiction of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in accordance with the 1982 UN Convention of the Law on the Sea and the international treaties  between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the concerned State.
4. The subsoil national border is a vertical plane from the inland national border and the national border on the sea to subsoil.
    The subsoil boundary of the sea area is the vertical plane from the outside border lines of the exclusive economic zone, continental shelf to the subsoil determining the right to sovereignty, jurisdiction of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in accordance with the 91982 US Convention on the Law of the Sea and the international treaties between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the concerned States.
5. The national border in the sky is the vertical plane from the inland national border and the national border on the sea to the sky.

Article 6

The border areas comprises:
1. The inland border area comprises communes, wards, townships with part of the administrative boundary coincidental with the inland national border.
2. The border area on the sea comprises the national border on the sea through to all administrative boundaries of communes, wards, townships adjacent to the sea and islands and archipelagoes.
3. The border area in the sky comprises the part of the air space along the national border with the breadth of 10 kilometres from the national border back inside.

Article 7

Internal waters of Vietnam comprises:

1. The internal waters is located inside the baseline;
2. Port waters is limited by a line connecting the points jutting out offshore to the farthest of the equipment works which are regularly the organic parts of the port system.

Article 8

Historic waters is the water area which due to the special geographical conditions is of important significance to the economy, national defence and security of Vietnam or of Vietnam and the States having the same process of age-old management, exploitation and use agreed upon by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the relevant nations in accordance with the special mechanism by signing the international treaty.

Article 9

Territorial waters of Vietnam is 12 nautical miles wide from the baseline to the outer. Territorial waters of Vietnam comprises the inland territorial waters, the island territorial waters and the archipelago territorial waters.

Article 10

Building, managing and protecting the national border, the border area is the work of the entire people uniformly managed by the State. The State and the people combines the economic and social development with the acceleration of national defence, security and foreign relations.

Article 11

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam implements the policy of building its border of peace, friendship and long stability with the neighbouring countries; settling all the issues on the national border through negotiations on the basis of mutual respect of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and legitimate interests.

Article 12

The State has a policy on giving special priority to building the border area into a strong border area in all aspects; raising the material and spiritual life of the people in the border area; building the border projects and the hard core in charge of meeting the requirements of construction, management and protection of the national border in all situations.

Article 13

The Vietnam Fatherland Front and the member organizations within their power and obligations are responsible to conduct propaganda work, mobilize the people to strictly abide by the law on the national border; supervise the implementation of the law on the national border of the organizations and individuals.

Article 14

The following behaviours are prohibited:

1. To move or destroy the border markers; cause to deviate the national border line; to change the natural currents of the border rivers, streams; do damage to the border markers.;
2. To sabotage social security, order and safety in the border area; to appropriate land to till and to live in the border area; to destroy the works in the border;
3. To use up the water sources, to cause water-logging and environmental pollution, infringe natural resources and national interests;
4. To travel illegally across the national border; to smuggle, transport illegally the goods, money, weapons, heroin, dangerous blasting charges and inflammable substances through the national border; to transport across the national border the harmful cultural products and other kinds of goods banned to import and export by the State;
5. To fly into the no-fly zone; to shoot, launch, drop, transport in the sky across the national border the means of flying, flying objects, the harmful substances or in danger of causing harm to national defence, security, economy, the people’s health, environment, safe aviation, social order and safety in the border area;
6. All the behaviours that violate the law on the national border.



Article 15

1. The exit, entrance, transit, export and import through the national border are implemented at the border gates; the exit through the border into the mainland, sea area, air space must observe the stipulations on traveling on roads, railway line, inland water ways, maritime line, airline; the people’s traveling in the border area must be carried out at the border gate or where it is open to traffic through the border.
2. Humans, facilities, goods through the national border must have all legal papers and go through examination and control of the authorized agencies as stipulated by the law.

Article 16

1. The opening of the border gate and the opening of an area to traffic through the border, the upgrading of the border gate, the closing of the border gate, the determining of roads, railway line, inland water ways, maritime line and airline which are used for transit shall be decided by the Government in accordance with the stipulations of the Vietnamese law or international treaty signed or joined by Vietnam.
2. The traveling in and out of the border gate, temporary residence and other activities in the border gate area must observe the stipulations of the law.

Article 17

1. The control area is set up right at the border gate so that the authorized State agencies implement the examination and control, process the exit, entrance, transit, import and export procedures as stipulated by the law.
2. The Government stipulates that agencies in charge must co-ordinate to manage and maintain order and security in the border gate area.

Article 18

Foreign boats and ships cruising through Vietnam’s territorial waters without causing any harms must abide by the provisions of the Vietnamese law and international treaties Vietnam signed or joined; submarines and other facilities going under water must float and fly their national flags.

Article 19

1. Foreign boats and ships run with nuclear energy, boats and ships transport radiation and other harmful and toxic substances, when they sail through Vietnam’s territorial waters without doing any harms must carry all materials and documents and take preventive measures as stipulated by the Vietnamese law and international treaties Vietnam signed or joined.
2. Boats and ships in accordance with Clause 1 of this Article have other operations in Vietnam’s territorial waters must get the permit from Vietnam’s  authorized agency and take special preventive measures as stipulated by the Vietnamese law and international treaties Vietnam signed or joined.

Article 20

Air planes are allowed to fly through the national border and air space of Vietnam only after they are permitted by Vietnam’s authorized agency, must abide by the management, control and guidance of Vietnam’s flight managerial agency, observe the stipulations of the Vietnamese law and international treaties Vietnam signed or joined.

Article 21

1. In case it is because of the reason of national defence, security, other special reason or at the request of the concerned country, humans, facilities, goods are possibly limited or temporarily halted when they go through the national border, including the traveling without doing harm in Vietnam’s territorial waters.
2. The authority to make a decision on limiting, temporarily halt is stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article by the Government. The decision on limiting, temporarily halting must be informed to the local authority and the authority of the concerned country.

Article 22

In case there is an accident or event or it is because of other objective reason that is forced to go through the national border without observing the stipulations of this Law and other stipulations of the Vietnamese law, the controller of the facility must inform immediately to the port authority, the national rescue and salvage agency, the managerial agency or the authorized agency of Vietnam at the nearest place and it must be implemented in accordance with the guidance of the authorized agency of Vietnam.

Article 23

The building project in the border area relating to the national border must abide by the planning and approved by the authorized agency; when it is implemented, it must observe the regulations of the border area, other provisions of the law and must not obstruct the management and protection of the national border.

Article 24

1. All activities relating to the national border in the tourism, services, trade, border gate economic zone and other economic zones in the border area must observe the regulations of the border area.
2. The regulations on the border area shall be provided by the Government.



Article 25

The State has a strategy, planning and plan to make investment in building the powerfully and comprehensively political, social, national defence and security border area; has a priority policy to create favourable conditions for the people to settle down in the border area.

Article 26

Every year, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government, provincial People’s Committees, cities under the central government within the sphere of their rights and obligations shall make their investment plans to build the economic and social development projects, to build infrastructure, adjust the inhabitants in the border area, border projects to be submitted to the Government for decision.

Article 27

The State gives priority to investment in building the border projects, border markers in order to manage, protect the national border.

Article 28

1. The State builds the whole-people borderguard and the solid and powerful borderguard combat position to manage, protect the national border.
2. The March 03 every year is the “Whole people borderguard Day”

Article 29

1. The national border, the national border marker system, border projects must be strictly maintained, managed and protected.
2. Those people who discover that the border markers are damaged, lost, deviated from the direction of the national border line or the border projects are damaged must report to the border guards or the local administration or the agency nearestby.

Article 30

1. The restoration, repair of the national border markers must follow the stipulations of the Vietnamese law and international treaty signed by Vietnam.
2. The settlement of any national border-related happenings must follow the stipulations of the Vietnamese law and international treaty Vietnam signed or joined.

Article 31

1. Building, managing, protecting the national border, border area is the task of the State and of the entire people, first of all, of the administrations and people in border area and the people’s armed forces.
2. The border guards is the key, full-time force; it combines work with the People’s Public Police Force, the relevant sectors and the local administrations in management and protection of the national border, maintenance of security, order, social safety in the border area as stipulated by the law.

Article 32

Those forces which take charge of protecting the national border are allowed to use weapon, support tools, technical facilities, special use facilities as stipulated by the law.

Article 33

1. The State has policy, preferential treatment for those people who personally manage and protect the national border and those who are mobilized to do the task of managing and protection the national border.
2. Those people who are mobilized by the authorized agency to join the protection of the national border sacrifice their lives, are wounded, get damaged health will be able to enjoy the same treatment and policy as the self-defence militiamen who join the combat and serve the combat.
3. Organisations, individuals whose facilities and properties are mobilized by the authorized agency in urgent case to protect the national border are compensated as stipulated by the Law if their facilities and properties are damaged

Article 34

1. Every year, the State reserves a considerable budget to guarantee the building, management, protection of the national border.
2. The financial source to guarantee the building, management, protection of the national border includes:
a/ The State budget.
b/ Other sources as stipulated by the law.
3/ The Government stipulates specifically the regime of management and use of the financial source for the building, management, protection of the national border.

                   

Article 35

The content of the State management of the national border comprises:

1. Build and guide the implementation of strategy and policy on the national border;
2. Promulgate and organize the implementation of legal writings on the national border, policy on construction, management, protection of the national border;
3. Negotiate, sign and organize the implementation of international treaty on the national border;
4. Propagate, popularize, educate the law on the national border;
5. Decide to build the border project, the economic-social projects in the border area;
6. Study, apply science and technology to serve the building, management, protection of the national border;
7. Build the key, full-time force; train, foster to raise the profession level concerning management and protection of the national border;
8. Inspect, examine, settle the complaints, accusations and handle the violations of the law on the national border;
9. International co-operation in building, managing, protecting the national border.

Article 36

1. The Government unifies the State management of the national border; stipulates the rights and obligations, the scope of responsibility in co-ordinating with ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial People’s Committee, cities under the Central government where there is the national border to exercise the State management of the National border.
2. The Ministry of National Defence takes charge of co-ordinating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Police to bear the responsibility before the Government to implement the State management of the national border.
3. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies within their rights and obligations to be responsible to implement the State management of the national border.

Article 37

The People’s Committees at all levels having the national border shall implement the State management of the national border as stipulated by the Government.


Article 38

Organisations, individuals with achievements in building, managing, protecting the national border shall be honoured with rewards in accordance with the provisions of the law.



Article 39

Organisations, individuals with behaviours of violating the law on the national border, depending on the character, level of violations, shall be handled with administrative punishment or prosecuted with criminal responsibility; if any losses are made, compensations are required in accordance with the provisions of the law.


Article 40

This Law shall takes effect from January 01, 2004.
The previous provisions running counter to this Law shall be abrogated.

Article 41

The Government stipulates in detail and gives guidance to implementing this Law./.