exclusive economic zone of Vietnam
{{Short description|Economic zone exclusive to Vietnam}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
Vietnam claims an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of {{convert|1,395,096|km²|sqmi|abbr=on}} with {{convert|200|nmi|km mi|1}} from its shores.[http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/704?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10 EEZ and shelf areas of Vietnam] – Sea Around Us Project – Fisheries, Ecosystems & Biodiversity – Data and Visualization.[https://www.marineregions.org/eezdetails.php?mrgid=8484 Vietnam · MRGID 8484 at MarineRegions.org]
Excluding all disputed waters, Vietnam has an undisputed exclusive economic zone of {{convert|417,663|km²|sqmi|abbr=on}}.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} This figure does not include the EEZ areas of the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands. Vietnam has disputes mainly with the People's Republic of China due to the nine-dash line.
Vietnam has the 33rd longest coastline of {{convert|3,260|km|abbr=on}}.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070613004524/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2060.html CIA World Factbook: Coastline] It includes much of the western area of the South China Sea and parts of the southern area bordering Malaysia and Brunei's EEZs. The total land area, including inland bodies of water, of Vietnam is {{convert|331212|km²|sqmi|abbr=on}}.{{#tag:ref|See: List of countries and dependencies by area|group="n"}} Vietnam has dozens of islands. Phú Quốc is the largest island with {{convert|574|sqkm|sqmi}}.{{cite book | last1 = Boobbyer | first1 = Claire | last2 = Spooner | first2 = Andrew | year = 2013 | page = [https://archive.org/details/vietnamcambodial0000boob/page/173 173] | title = Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos Footprint Handbook | publisher = Footprint Travel Guides | isbn = 978-1-907263-64-4 | url = https://archive.org/details/vietnamcambodial0000boob/page/173 }}
Disputes
{{Main|Territorial disputes in the South China Sea}}
File:South China Sea claims map.svg
Vietnam's disputes are mainly with the People's Republic of China. Vietnam rejects China's nine-dash line which extends much further than China's {{convert|200|nmi|km mi|1}} from its shores. The nine-dash line cuts straight through Vietnam's Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea and would reduce Vietnam's EEZ by 3/4th. This line also cuts the EEZ of the Philippines and Malaysia in half. Brunei would lose 90% of its EEZ. According to former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, "China's nine-dash line territorial claim over the entire South China Sea is against international laws, particularly the United Nations Convention of the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS)".{{cite web| title = Aquino mulls UN protest on Spratlys| first = Regina| last = Bengco| url = http://maritimesecurity.asia/south-china-sea-2/aquino-mulls-un-protest-on-spratlys/| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130114203524/http://maritimesecurity.asia/south-china-sea-2/aquino-mulls-un-protest-on-spratlys/| url-status = dead| archive-date = 14 January 2013| publisher = Maritime Security Asia| date = 2 June 2011}} Vietnam also rejected the Chinese claim, citing that it is baseless and against the UNCLOS.{{cite web|title=Is the Ox's tongue line legal?|author=Hoang Viet|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/forum/2009/05/090515_china_sea_dispute.shtml | publisher=BBC|date=19 May 2009}}
In the spring of 2014, China and Vietnam clashed over China's Haiyang Shiyou oil rig in Vietnam's EEZ. The incident left seventeen Vietnamese injured and damaged both China's and Vietnam's ships.{{Cite journal|last=Bui|first=Nhung T.|date=4 July 2016|title=Managing anti-China nationalism in Vietnam: evidence from the media during the 2014 oil rig crisis|journal=The Pacific Review|volume=30|issue=2|pages=169–187|doi=10.1080/09512748.2016.1201132|s2cid=156373670|issn=0951-2748}}
= Paracel and Spratly Islands =
The Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands were recognized as part of Vietnam in 1954.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} The Geneva Accords of 1954,{{Cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v16/d1044|title=Declaration by the Government of the French Republic|access-date=30 May 2019}} which ended the First Indochina War, gave South Vietnam control of the Vietnamese territories south of the 17th Parallel, which included the islands in the Paracels and Spratlys, at least according to Vietnam interpretations.{{Cite journal|last=Nguyen|first=Hong Thao|date=2012|title=Vietnam's Position on the Sovereignty over the Paracels & the Spratlys: Its Maritime Claim|journal=Journal of East Asia International Law|volume=1}}
In 1974, during the Vietnam War, the PRC used military force in the Paracel Islands and took Yagong Island and the Crescent group of reefs from South Vietnam.{{Cite book|title=Contest For the South China Sea|last=Samuels|first=Marwyn|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|location=London|pages=55–65}}{{Cite journal|last=Yoshihara|first=Toshi|date=2016|title=The 1974 Paracels Sea Battle: A Campaign Appraisal|journal=Naval War College Review|volume=69|issue=2|pages=41–65}} Since the 1990s China still occupies and controls all of the Paracel Islands. The PRC controls all of the features in the Paracels.
Vietnam controls 29 features of the Spratly Islands. However, since 2013 China has been constructing artificial islands on reefs and military bases which changed the balance of power in favour of the PRC in the South China Sea.{{Cite web|url=https://amti.csis.org/island-tracker/china/|title=China Island Tracker|website=Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative|access-date=30 May 2019}}
See also
Notes
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References
{{World topic|title=Exclusive economic zones|Exclusive economic zone of|noredlinks=yes}}