“Vietnam welcomes the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)’s issuance of the final ruling on July 12 and will issue a statement on the ruling’s content,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh said on July 12.

He fielded reporters’ question about Vietnam’s response to the PCA's issuance of the final ruling on the Philippines’s lawsuit against China’s claims in the East Sea. The tribunal was set up pursuant to Annex VII of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea at the request of the Philippines.

“Vietnam once again reiterates its consistent stance on this lawsuit as it was fully shown in the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s Declaration on December 5, 2014, sent to the arbitration tribunal,” he noted. 

“In that spirit, Vietnam strongly supports settling disputes in the East Sea through peaceful measures, including diplomatic and legal processes without the use or threat to use force, as in line with regulations of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, maintaining peace and stability in the region, security, safety and freedom of navigation in and overflight over the East Sea, and respecting the law-abiding principle in seas and oceans,” Binh said. 

“On this occasion, Vietnam once again affirms its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, the sovereignty over internal waters and territorial waters, the sovereign right and jurisdiction over Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as defined in line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. 

Vietnam upholds all of its legitimate rights and interests regarding the geographical structures belonging to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes,” stated the spokesperson.