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Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy , Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN (Photo: VNA) New York (VNA) – Vietnam is concerned about cases of using or threatening to use force in international relations, which go against the UN Charter and harm international peace and security, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, has said. Quy was addressing an UN Security Council (UNSC)’s videoconference Arria-formula meeting on February 24 themed “Upholding the collective security system of the UN Charter: the use of force in international law, non-state actors and legitimate self-defense” with the participants of nearly 30 member countries of the UN Security Council and the UN. He stressed that all countries are obliged to build friendship relations and form a culture of upholding the UN Charter and international law as well as abiding by principles in sovereignty and territorial integrity, not interfering into internal affairs of other states, not using or threatening to use force, and dealing with disputes peacefully. The diplomat said that the UNSC should work to enhance the observance of international law and promote the role of international law and UN Charter as a vital tool in maintaining international peace and security, while increasing its coordination with regional organisations and international legal agencies in coping with disputes, maintaining peace and preventing conflicts. He underlined the need to avoid the abuse and re-explanation of the UN Charter, suggesting the UNSC continue to creating favourable conditions for countries to get access to affairs and documents of the council to promote open and transparent discussions in the field. Noting that this topic has been mostly discussed among scholars, Naz Modirzadeh, Director of the Harvard Law School Programme on International Law and Armed Conflict, said that all countries are authorised and responsible in building international law, including the …

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The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) transits through South China Sea while conducting routine underway operations, February 5, 2021. — Photo from the US Department of Defense HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam is a responsible member of the international community and always upholds provisions under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS 1982), spokesperson for the foreign ministry Lê Thị Thu Hằng said. She made the statement on Thursday in the regular press briefing, held virtually this time due to COVID-19 in Hà Nội, when asked for Việt Nam’s reaction to the US Navy’s first freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) held under the Biden administration in February. The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain reportedly conducted the FONOP near the Trường Sa (Spratly) and Hoàng Sa (Paracel) archipelagoes in the South China Sea (known as the East Sea by Việt Nam) over which Việt Nam has repeatedly claimed sovereignty, but contested by mainland China and China’s Taiwan. “By engaging in innocent passage without giving prior notification to or asking permission from any of the claimants,” the US Navy noted in a statement. Also regarding the recent statement by French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly that France had sent the nuclear submarine, SNA Emeraude, to patrol the South China Sea, together with the naval support ship BSAM Seine, the said spokesperson said: “As a responsible member of the international community and a signatory of the UNCLOS 1982, Việt Nam always upholds the provisions of the UNCLOS, including items related to maritime and flight activities over the sea regions set up in accordance with UNCLOS 1982.” “The maintenance of peace, stability, security and order, safety, maritime and overflight freedom, the rule of law, with respect to sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of the littoral countries in the South China Sea, in a manner that is consistent with the UNCLOS 1982, is …

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Vietnam hopes all countries will continue contributing positively to maintaining peace and stability on the basis of international law in the East Sea, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said at a press meet Thursday. In Vietnam, the South China Sea is called the East Sea. Hang said maintaining peace, stability, order, security, safety, freedom of navigation and overflight, obeying the law, respecting sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of countries along the East Sea in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) should be the common goal, interest, responsibility and aspiration of all concerned states as well as the international community. "The activities of all countries in the East Sea need to contribute to this common goal. As a responsible member of the international community and a member of UNCLOS, Vietnam abides by the convention's provisions, including regulations relating to maritime and aviation operations in the sea area that have been set up in accordance with the convention," she added. The destroyer USS John S. McCain on February 5 sailed near Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in the East Sea in a freedom of navigation operation, marking the first such mission under President Joe Biden’s new administration. On February 17, U.S. destroyer USS Russell conducted another freedom of navigation operation, sailing near Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands. Washington has denounced what it calls Beijing’s attempts to bully neighbors with competing interests; and China has similarly denounced what it calls U.S. efforts to foment unrest in the region and interfere in what it regards as its internal affairs. The recent actions suggest that the Biden administration is not about to scale back operations challenging Beijing’s claims after the ramp-up seen during the Trump administration, analysts have noted. China seized the Paracel Islands from South Vietnam by force in 1974, and has …

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