The distortion of the Party’s and State’s viewpoints, guidelines, and policies on the protection of national sovereignty over seas and islands is not a new but malicious trick since this is a matter of great domestic and international concern. Therefore, timely identifying and fighting against these distorted allegations and affirming the correctness of the Party’s and State’s foreign policy on the protection of national sovereignty over seas and islands are urgent tasks in the current situation.

The importance of the East Sea in several fields is undeniable, yet there are also complexities that is of regional and international concern, including the international maritime system and the “issues” of sovereignty and territory. Consequently, this area has been the focus of competition of influence of countries around the world, especially major ones. For that reason, in recent decades, this sea has always been a “hot issue” on the regional political chessboard. In our country, hostile and reactionary forces have taken advantage of this issue to release a great amount of false information in an attempt to distort the Party’s and State’s guidelines, viewpoints, and policies on the protection of national sovereignty over seas and islands, notably the “proposals” and “recommendations” demanding changes in Vietnam’s foreign policy on national sovereignty over seas and islands.

Their common arguments are that Vietnam’s Party and State are “feeble” and “indifferent” in the protection of national sovereignty over seas and islands; that “only a military alliance with military powers can help Vietnam retain its sovereignty over seas and islands and protect its national interests”; that the Vietnam’s People Navy is “too weak” and “obsolete”, etc. Accordingly, Vietnam needs a military alliance with major powers with strong military and national defence potentials to protect its national sovereignty over territory, seas, and islands (!).

These are false and fabricated allegations, which are used to destabilise the domestic security and political situation and damage Vietnam’s relations with foreign countries. Both theory and practice have affirmed that our Party and State have always paid attention to the task of firmly protecting the national independence, sovereignty, territorial unity, and integrity with consistent, correct, legal, and effective guidelines and viewpoints.

On the protection of national sovereignty over seas and islands. After our reunification, grasping that the United Nations was in the process of discussing and developing the Convention on the Law of the Sea and related contents, Vietnam issued a Declaration on its territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf on May 12, 1977. Then, on November 12, 1982, the Vietnamese Government issued a declaration on the baselines used to calculate the breadth of Vietnam’s territorial sea. These are extremely crucial legal bases for Vietnam to conduct negotiations to resolve the issue of overlapping maritime delimitation with other countries later. Vietnam signed an Agreement on maritime boundary with Thailand on August 9, 1977, and this agreement officially took effect on February 26, 1998. It was the first time that Vietnam has signed a maritime delimitation agreement with a neighbouring country, and it is also the first maritime delimitation agreement in Southeast Asia after the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 took effect on November 16, 1994. Besides, Vietnam and Thailand reached an agreement on joint patrols between the two navies in 1998, making an important contribution to maintaining security, order, and stability in the bordering waters between the two countries. Considering the Gulf of Tonkin, on December 25, 2000, Vietnam and China signed the Agreement on the delimitation of the Gulf of Tonkin, according to which Vietnam possesses 53,23% of the total area of the Gulf while China has possession of the remaining. On June 26, 2003, after 25 years of negotiations, Vietnam and Indonesia signed an Agreement on the delimitation of the overlapping continental shelf between the two countries and this agreement has officially been valid since May 29, 2007. These agreements play a pivotal role in affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction while facilitating the management and exploitation of seas and promoting cooperation with neighbouring countries. This proves that Vietnam’s Party, Government, and State have always focused on actively and resolutely protecting the national sovereignty over seas and islands on the basis of international law.

In practice, whenever our sovereignty and sovereign rights over the East Sea are violated, the Party and State leaders immediately express their resolute stance against the infringing acts of foreign countries, firmly protecting the national sovereignty over seas and islands. Besides, our Party and State also take advantage of forums and meetings in the fields of politics and diplomacy to condemn violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty over seas and islands. Additionally, Vietnam has always been proactive, active, and persistent in resolving disagreements over maritime and land borders with other countries in order to promote friendly and cooperative relations, thus contributing to the consolidation of regional peace and security, strengthening our prestige in the international arena. Having experienced the consequences of war, we strongly oppose every form of war and conflict. Our Party and State have always had a consistent view of settling all disputes and disagreements in general, and the ones related to seas and islands in particular, by peaceful means, in accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and international law, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for national construction and development. Meanwhile, preparing forces and plans to resolutely protect national independence and sovereignty over seas and islands. This is a measure that shows the Party’s and State’s cleverness and flexibility in the strategy as well as the resoluteness in the principles to achieve the common goals, not their “feebleness and cowardness” and “indifference to the East Sea” as the false allegations of reactionary forces.

In terms of a military alliance, first of all, the “four nos” viewpoint in the foreign policy of our Party and State needs to be reaffirmed, especially that the protection of national sovereignty over seas and islands does not contradict the policy of “Continuing to implement the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation, and diversification; proactively and actively accelerating international integration in a comprehensive, extensive, and effective manner; maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, constantly improving Vietnam’s international position and prestige”. It has been proven in practice that thanks to the consistency and correct implementation of this foreign policy, Vietnam has gained the consensus and support of the international community for the cause of national construction and defence, thus securing strategic trust, which is a crucial foundation for partners and countries in international relations. During the two resistance wars against the French colonialists and the American imperialists, despite the fact that Vietnam received great help from the socialist countries, friends, and progressive people all over the world, we still upheld the spirit of independence, self-reliance, and justice so that we could promote the synergy of the whole nation and the times - an important factor in securing victories. This is one of the lessons learned in our country’s struggle for national liberation and unification. Therefore, in order to firmly protect national sovereignty over seas and islands as well as the national interests, it is the spirit of independence and self-reliance that must be upheld, not any military alliance. On the other hand, there are mutual benefits of a military alliance: the smaller country can avoid the risk of losing its sovereignty over seas and islands and protect the national interests against external threats, yet it has to arrange a “mortgage” to receive “commitments” of protection from its allies. It is a common “rule of game” in current international relations. It is theoretically and practically affirmed that under any circumstances, Vietnam should follow its consistent viewpoint of being independent and self-reliant, “using our own strength to liberate ourselves”. We mainly depend on our strength, but we also take advantage of the consensus and support of friends and the international community to protect our national sovereignty over seas and islands.

Vietnam’s Party and State have always focused on building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern army in general and the Vietnam People’s Navy in particular, which serves as the core force in protecting our sovereignty over seas and islands. This acts as the affirmation of the appropriate policy of our Party and State to counter the distorted allegations of hostile and reactionary forces. Accordingly, we advocate defending the Fatherland with the synergy of the whole nation, combining national strength with the power of the times, in which, building a revolutionary, regular, elite, and modern people’s armed forces is the most important thing. Since 2010, the Party, the State, the Central Military Commission, and the Ministry of National Defence have decided to develop the Vietnam People’s Navy straight toward modernity. Hence, investment priorities are given to weapons, equipment, and personnel of the Navy. By receiving, mastering, and putting into operation different types of ships, modern weapons and equipment, by now, the Vietnam People’s Navy has already had all five force components, including surface ships; submarines; naval air force; coastal artillery and rockets; marines, naval commando, and island defence force. Besides, with the 70-year tradition of building, fighting, and growing and the glorious victories secured in the cause of national liberation, reunification, and defence, the Navy has always been steadfast in the ideology with creative thinking and determination to win, acting as the steel punch to firmly protect the national sovereignty over seas and islands along with other forces. This strongly refutes allegations about the strength and fighting will of the Vietnam People’s Navy.

Protecting the national sovereignty over seas and islands is a sacred duty and the responsibility of the entire Party, people, army, and the whole political system. Therefore, policies and measures need to be taken synchronously, in which, it is necessary to recognise and resolutely fight against allegations and sabotage activities of hostile and reactionary forces, making the international community understand and promoting the synergy of the whole nation, thus firmly protecting the national sovereignty over seas and islands.

Dr. TRAN THI NHEN, Naval Academy