(English version) Vietnam Law of the Sea 2012

The document is the English version of Vietnam's Law of the Sea (LotS) adopted in 2012. This legal document includes scope and application of the Law, interpretation of terms of maritime zones, vessels types, Vietnam's coastal state jurisdictions, and legal status in those maritime zones, the rights and duties of other states in those maritime zones, and codes for maritime operations of foreign vessels, individuals, and organization. Apart from the innocent passage of foreign military vessels and the foreign states' rights to lay submarine cables and pipelines, the rest of the contents stated in Vietnam's Law of the Sea conforms to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Article 12.2 of the Law requires prior notice to the competent Vietnamese authorities for innocent passage of foreign military vessels through Vietnam's territorial sea, which is not required as stated in the UNCLOS. Article 16.2 requires written consent of competent Vietnamese authorities for the laying of submarines cables and pipelines in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which is also not stated in the UNCLOS. However, Article 2.2 states that the provision of an international treaty to which Vietnam is a contracting party shall prevail over Vietnam's LotS if there are differences between the two, which includes to the UNCLOS.

Document (PDF): Vietnam Law of the Sea (English version).

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(Vietnamese version) Vietnam Law of the Sea 2012

  • Summary

The document contains the Vietnamese version of Vietnam's Law of the Sea (LotS) adopted in 2012. This legal document includes scope and application of the Law, interpretation of terms of maritime zones, vessels types, Vietnam's coastal state jurisdictions, and legal status in those maritime zones, the rights and duties of other states in those maritime zones, and codes for maritime operations of foreign vessels, individuals, and organization. Apart from the innocent passage of foreign military vessels and the foreign states' rights to lay submarine cables and pipelines, the rest of the contents stated in Vietnam's Law of the Sea conforms to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Article 12.2 of the Law requires prior notice to the competent Vietnamese authorities for innocent passage of foreign military vessels through Vietnam's territorial sea, which is not required as stated in the UNCLOS. Article 16.2 requires written consent of competent Vietnamese authorities for the laying of submarines cables and pipelines in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which is also not stated in the UNCLOS. However, Article 2.2 states that the provision of AN international treaty to which Vietnam is a contracting party shall prevail over Vietnam's LotS if there are differences between the two, which refers to the UNCLOS.

This summary is retrieved from the summary of the official English version of Vietnam Law of the Sea.

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(Vienamese version) Agreement between Indonesia and Vietnam concerning the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf Boundary on 26 June 2003

  • Summary

This legal document contains the Vietnamese version of the Agreement between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia concerning the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf Boundary signed by both contracting parties in 2003.

The summary article for this document can be found at that of the English version of the Bilateral Agreement,

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(Bahasa Indonesian version) Agreement between Vietnam and Indonesia concerning the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf Boundary on 26 June 2003

  • Summary

This legal document contains the Bahasa Indonesian version of the Agreement between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia concerning the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf Boundary signed by both contracting parties in 2003.

The summary article for this document can be found at that of the English version of the Bilateral Agreement,

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(Visualizing map) Agreement between Indonesia and Vietnam concerning the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf Boundary on 26 June 2003

  • Summary

This document contains the map visualizing the Continental Shelf Boundary agreed by The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Indonesia in their Agreement on the Continental Shelf boundary signed in 2003.

The summary article and the content of the Agreement can be found here

 

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(English version) Agreement between the Vietnam and Indonesia concerning the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf Boundary on 26 June 2003

Summary

This legal document contains the English version of the Agreement between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia concerning the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf Boundary signed by both contracting parties in 2003. The delimitation line of the continental shelf is comprised of straight lines connected by four points, which were mutually agreed upon by both contracting parties. This Agreement facilitates both parties in forming principles for joint exploitation of petroleum, natural gas, and mineral deposits that extend across the delimitation line of the continental shelves.

This agreement is not a treaty/agreement of delimitation of their exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Article 2 clarifies that "[t]his Agreement shall not in any way affect any future agreement which may be entered into between the Contracting Parties relating to the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone boundary." Currently, Vietnam prefers the same boundary for both the EEZ and the continental shelf while Indonesia proposes the equidistant method for delimiting the EEZ separately from that of the continental shelf.

Documents:

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(Chinese Version) Agreement between China and Vietnam on the Delimitation of the Territorial Seas, Exclusive Economic Zones and Continental Shelves of the two Countries in the Gulf of Tonkin (Beibu Gulf/Bac Bo Gulf) on 25 December 2000

  • Summary

This legal document contains the Chinese version of the Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on the Delimitation of the Territorial Seas, Exclusive Economic Zones and Continental Shelves of the two countries in the Beibu Gulf (Bac Bo Gulf in Vietnamese/Gulf on Tonkin in English), signed on 25 December 2000 2000.

The summary of the Agreement can be found in that of the English version (adapted from the UN Treaty Series)

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(Vietnamese version) Agreement between China and Vietnam on the Delimitation of the Territorial Seas, Exclusive Economic Zones and Continental Shelves of the two Countries in the Gulf of Tonkin (Beibu Gulf/Bac Bo Gulf) on 25 December 2000

  • Summary

This legal document contains the Vietnamese version of the Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on the Delimitation of the Territorial Seas, Exclusive Economic Zones, and Continental Shelves of the two countries in the Bac Bo Gulf (Beibu Gulf in Chinese/Gulf on Tonkin in English), signed on 25 December 2000.

The summary of the Agreement can be found in that of the English version (adapted from the UN Treaty Series)

by jordani

(English version) Agreement between China and Vietnam on the Delimitation of the Territorial Seas, Exclusive Economic Zones, and Continental Shelves of the two Countries in Gulf of Tonkin (Beibu Gulf/Bac Bo Gulf) on 25 December 2000

  • Summary

This legal document contains the Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on the Delimitation of the Territorial Seas, Exclusive Economic Zones and Continental Shelves of the two countries in the Gulf on Tonkin (Beibu Gulf in Chinese/Bac Bo Gulf in Vietnamese), signed in 2000. The Agreement clarifies that the Gulf of Tonkin is "a semi-enclosed gulf Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on the Delimitation of the Territorial Seas, Exclusive Economic Zones and Continental Shelves of the two Countries in Beibu Gulf/Bac Bo Gulf (adopted from UN Treaty Series)", which shall be delimited by a straight line connecting 21 points provided in the agreement. The images for the delimitation map can be found on pages 8-9 of the Vietnamese version of the Agreement.

Point 1 starts from the Beilun estuary, and point 1 to 9 generate a delimitation line as the boundary of the territorial sea of the two countries in the Gulf of Tonkin. Notably, the delimitation line from point 1 to 7 shall not be changed regardless of any topological changes unless agreed by both parties. Points 9 to 21 generate a delimitation line as the boundary of the EEZ and continental shelves of the two countries in the Gulf of Tonkin. This Agreement does not affect the dispute of both countries in the Paracels Islands and the Spratly Islands as they do not locate in the Gulf of Tonkin recognized in the Agreement.

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(Vietnamese version) Vietnam Decree No. 104 on Foreign Naval Ships Making Visits to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Nghị định 104

Nghị định 71

 

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