*The English version of the Agreement (PDF file) is an unofficial translation, the content of which was checked with the official Vietnamese version by the editor, who is native in Vietnamese. There are no conflicts in the contents and the use of terms between the Vietnamese version and this English version.

• Summary

This legal document contains the Agreement on the Historical Waters between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the People’s Republic of Kampuchea signed on 18 February 1979. The Historical Waters locate between the coast of Kien Giang province Phu Quoc island to Tho Chu Islands of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the coast of Kampot province to Poulo Wai Islands of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea, the specific coordinates of which are stated in the document. The mentioned Historical Waters are put under internal water status due to geographic and historical conditions. According to the document, the patrol, and control activities of, the traditional fishing activities by local people within, and the exploitation of natural resources within the Historical Waters will be conducted by both sides, with bilateral negotiation for resource extraction activities.

Notably, the agreement does not conclude an official maritime boundary between Vietnam and Cambodia within the agreed Historical Waters. Both contracting parties take the Brevie Line as the island divider in the area. The ‘point 0″, which will be a base point to measure the breadth of the territorial sea of each country, will locate on the line connecting Tho Chu Islands and Poulo Wai Island. This point 0 was officially used as a starting point for the Vietnamese territorial sea’s straight baseline in the Statement by the Government  Vietnam on the Territorial Sea Baseline in 1982.

• Document: Agreement on the Historical Waters between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the People’s Republic of Kampuchea 2/18/1979 (unofficial English translation)