UNCLOS 1982 creates an environment for Vietnam to protect its sovereignty in the East Sea.

UNCLOS 1982 creates a peaceful environment for Vietnam to develop its marine economy, build and firmly protect Vietnam's sovereignty , sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the East Sea.

Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu speaks at the ceremony to celebrate the 30th anniversary of UNCLOS coming into force. (Photo: Anh Son)

In an interview with TG&VN within the framework of the 30th anniversary of the entry into force of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu emphasized the comprehensiveness of the "Constitution on the seas and oceans" as well as Vietnam's active, good-willed and consistent participation.

Can you assess the significance and role of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) after three decades of implementation?

UNCLOS came into effect exactly 30 years ago. This is the most important international legal document that the international community has adopted in the 20th century, contributing to the creation of a legal environment at sea and is considered by many experts and scholars as the "Constitution of the seas and oceans".

UNCLOS has very strict regulations on defining maritime zones, establishing rights, sovereignty, and jurisdiction of countries over maritime zones. I think this is very important, it is the legal basis for countries to delimit maritime zones, avoiding disputes.

The Convention has an open mechanism to facilitate the implementation of specialized agreements and conventions. The most recent example is that in 2023, countries signed the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). This is a testament to the open meaning of the Convention, regulating new and emerging issues that real life poses to us.

After UNCLOS was adopted, Vietnam was one of the first 107 countries to sign and quickly proceed with the ratification procedure. How do you evaluate that turning point for Vietnam?

For Vietnam, the Convention is of great significance to our rights and interests at sea as well as creating a peaceful environment for Vietnam to develop its marine economy, build and firmly protect Vietnam's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the East Sea.

Based on the provisions of the Convention, we have negotiated with relevant countries to sign maritime delimitation agreements, especially with Thailand, China, and Indonesia. We believe that the Convention is very important, especially for coastal countries, including Vietnam.

The national flag flies in the area of ​​Sinh Ton Dong island, Truong Sa archipelago, East Sea in April 2023. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

What do you think about the efforts of countries in negotiating conventions and agreements within the framework of UNCLOS to "fuel" the vitality of the Convention in the new context?

UNCLOS is open-ended and is the basis for continued development in the field of maritime law, especially in specialized fields. BBNJ is typical, clearly showing that UNCLOS allows countries to continue negotiating towards signing conventions and agreements regulating new issues of international law.

In the coming time, the international community will continue to research and negotiate new issues arising at sea and in the ocean, in international legal practice, such as the issue of rising sea levels.

It is clear that Vietnam is not only active and proactive in implementing and promoting the implementation of UNCLOS but also making efforts to develop UNCLOS in the new situation. Looking back at Vietnam's journey of legal diplomacy related to UNCLOS, what is your assessment?

From the beginning, Vietnam has actively participated in the negotiation process of the Convention. Vietnam ratified the Convention in 1996. In recent times, Vietnam has actively participated in the BBNJ negotiation process, serving as Vice President of the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), and has officials participating in the Legal and Technical Committee of the agency that determines the extended continental shelf.

Vietnam has decided to send an expert to run for the position of judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for the 2026-2035 term (Dr. Nguyen Lan Anh, Director of the East Sea Institute, Diplomatic Academy). In addition, Vietnam, together with 11 countries, founded the Friends of UNCLOS 1982 Group at the United Nations, with more than 100 countries participating in this Group to promote UNCLOS in general.

These are proofs that Vietnam promotes the role and value of UNCLOS, actively participating with other countries to ensure the value of UNCLOS in today's international life.

Thank you very much!

In an interview with TG&VN about the value of UNCLOS, the Chief Representative of the United Nations (UN) agencies in Vietnam, Ms. Pauline Tamesis, affirmed that UNCLOS is still meaningful after 30 years of implementation. Ms. Pauline Tamesis highly appreciated Vietnam's efforts in continuing dialogue, discussion, especially international cooperation to successfully implement UNCLOS.

This effort contributes to ensuring that disputes are resolved through international frameworks and international law. The UN representative in Vietnam emphasized the need to address emerging issues that were not previously envisioned by the international community when UNCLOS was ratified, issues that need to be discussed now include marine conservation.

“For many of us, the ocean economy is an important topic. We need to discuss how UNCLOS can help and ensure that countries continue to cooperate, thereby contributing to many other UN efforts such as the UN conference on oceans next year,” said Ms. Pauline Tamesis. The UN Representative in Vietnam believes that the UN and Vietnam have many opportunities to promote the connection of the ocean economy, ocean conservation and sustainable development.

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