Vietnam government publishes map of its Gulf of Tonkin baseline

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HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s foreign ministry published a map defining its baseline claim in the Gulf of Tonkin, where it shares a maritime border with China, which it said on Friday was to help protect and enforce its sovereign rights.Baselines are used to determine limits to territorial waters and exclusive economic zones, and are a sensitive subject in the South China Sea, where China, Vietnam and other countries in the region have some conflicting claims.

The ministry marked the line on a map with 14 points running from offshore Quang Ninh province to Quang Tri province.

The baseline “creates additional legal basis to protect and enforce Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, serving economic development, marine management, and promoting international cooperation,” the ministry said in a statement.

It said the baseline is the basis for determining the boundaries and scope of Vietnam’s maritime zones according to the provisions of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Agreement on the Delimitation of the Gulf of Tonkin signed between Vietnam and China in 2000.

China’s foreign ministry didn’t immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

In March last year, China announced its baseline in the Gulf of Tonkin, and in response Vietnam said international law and the rights and interests of other countries must be respected.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu, Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio; Additiuonal reporting by Ethan Wang in Beijing; Editing by John Mair)