Vietnam's sovereignty over the South China Sea from the perspective of international law

ABSTRACT

The principle of sovereignty, ie of supreme authority within a territory, is a pivotal principle of modern international law. Although the role of modern international law in establishing the sovereignty of states has changed many times, it must still be affirmed that international law sources are an important international legal basis for states to determine their sovereignty, including national sovereignty over the seas. The South China Sea (‘SCS') (Bien Dong or, East Sea in Vietnamese) has long been regarded as a major source of tension and instability in Pacific Asia. The purpose of this article is to discuss the views and positions of Vietnam on sovereignty over the two islands of Paracels (Hoang Sa in Vietnamese/Xisha in Chinese), Spratlys (Truong Sa in Vietnamese/Nansha in Chinese) and maritime zones in the South China Sea on the basis of international law and practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Sovereign
• international law
• South China Sea
• national border
• waters

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Content and synopsis design, data retrieval, manuscript preparation, manuscript review. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

Data availability statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as Additional files.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nguyen Ba Dien

Nguyen Ba Dien, Professor of International Law, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of International Law, University of Law, Vietnam National University, Ha Noi, Viet Nam; Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Scientific Research Institute of Sea and Islands (SRISAI), the biggest law of the sea institute in Vietnam in terms of number of state-level projects relating to law and policy on sea and islands. His in-depth expertise and research includes Public International Law, Private International Law, International Commercial Law, International Law of the Sea, Jurisprudence, International Dispute Settlement Mechanism, etc. He is the author of many excellent national and international textbooks, monographs, reference books, conference proceedings/seminars, magazines and articles of national as well as international excellence on many issues related to the above-mentioned fields.

He is the founder and Director of the Center for the Law of the Sea and International Maritime Law from 2003 to 2022. He himself was Vice-Chairman of the Scientific and Training Council; Member of Editorial Board of the “Economy – Law” Special Issues; Permanent Deputy Director, Committee for the Management of the Postgraduate Training Programme on Maritime Law and Management of the Sea; Member of Interdisciplinary Economics - Law Scientific Council; Leader of a strong research group at Hanoi National University, Vietnam; Dean of the Faculty of International Law - University of Law - Vietnam National University, Ha Noi, Viet Nam. In addition, he is also Honorary President and senior advisor of VNJUST Law Firm, Vietnam.

Nguyen Hung Cuong

Dr. Nguyen Hung Cuong (Alternative name: Nguyen Ba Cuong) is Director of the Scientific Research Institute of Sea and Islands (SRISAI) as well as Managing Partner of VNJUST Law Firm, Vietnam.

Dr. Nguyen Hung Cuong is the author of numerous remarkable and leading books, magazines, articles, and newspapers on various issues concerning law of the sea, international law, international private law, and international trade/commercial law in Vietnam. He has also been regularly consulted by agencies of the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the U.S. Embassy, the Indian Embassy, the Indonesian Embassy, the Malaysian Embassy, the Thai Embassy, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, the Japanese Embassy, the South Korean Embassy, the Canadian Embassy, the European Union Delegation, and the Singaporean Embassy to Vietnam on issues relating to international law and the law of the sea.

Dr. Nguyen Hung Cuong is also Visiting Lecturer in many diverse subjects, such as International Law, International Trade/Business Law, International Commercial Arbitration at top universities in Vietnam and abroad, such as Hanoi Law University, Foreign Trade University, Security Academy, Judicial Academy, Faculty of Law and Government, Help University (Malaysia); Faculty of Law, Thammasat University (Chiangmai, Thailand). As regards practice of law, Dr Nguyen Hung Cuong has more than 17 years of experience in advising and protecting the interests of countless individuals, organizations, businesses, NGOs, and state agencies on a wide variety of issues, particularly including, inter alia, corporate, commercial, maritime, contractual, real estate, construction, dispute resolution, international law, law of the sea issues, at both national and international mechanisms.

Dong Thi Kim Thoa

Dr. Dong Thi Kim Thoa is currently the main lecturer and Deputy Director of the Ccooperation Center for Lawyer Training for International Integration, member of the Science and Training Council, and the Editorial Council of the Journal of Legal Profession of the Judicial Academy under the Ministry of Justice of the Government of Vietnam; she also is the main researcher and Partner of the Scientific Council of the Scientific Research Institute of Sea and Islands (SRISAI), and also the visiting lecturer at some training sectors under the Ministry of Justice and the People Supreme Court, and also is the active collaborator of VNJUST Law Firm, Vietnam.

Ms. Thoa has nearly 25 years of teaching and scientific research in the field of law, with main specialties being international law, international trade law, international private law, and administrative proceedings; also has participated in many scientific tasks at the State level, Ministry/Industry level and at training facilities in Vietnam. Her research focus is on modern and in-depth issues of theory and application of law in the practice of dispute resolution in the above fields.

Currently in 2024, Ms. Thoa's academic activities focus on legal research and practical application in the exercise of national sovereignty and the rights and obligations of other subjects in the field of ocean and maritime governance, developing high-quality human resources and sustainable development of the marine economy protecting the rights and interests of subjects through modern dispute resolution mechanisms in the fields of international law, international private law and international trade law.