What are the Vietnamese waters? What do artificial islands, equipment, and facilities in Vietnamese waters include?
What are the Vietnamese waters?
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law on Vietnamese sea 2012, the Vietnamese waters are defined as follows:
Vietnamese waters include the internal waters, territorial waters, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zones, and the continental shelf being under Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign right, and national jurisdiction, being defined under Vietnam’s law, international treaties on the territorial border of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member and in conformity with The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982.
What do artificial islands, equipment, and facilities in Vietnamese waters include?
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 34 of the Law on Vietnamese sea 2012 as follows:
Artificial islands, equipment, facilities on the sea
1. Artificial islands, equipment, and facilities on sea including:
a) Drilling rigs on the sea together entire other auxiliary parts which ensure normal and consecutive operation of drilling rigs or special-use equipment to explore, exploit and use the sea;
b) Types of maritime signals;
c) Other equipment, and facilities be installed and used at sea.
2. The State has jurisdiction with respect to artificial islands, equipment, and facilities on the sea in exclusive economic zones and continental shelves of Vietnam, including jurisdiction under provisions of custom, tax, health, security, and immigration law.
3. Artificial islands, equipment, facilities on the sea, and auxiliary or attached parts with a safety belt of 500 meters, measured from the protruding-farthest point of such islands, equipment, facilities or parts, but not having territorial waters and particular sea area.
4. Neither constructing artificial islands, equipment, and facilities on sea nor setting up security belts round artificial islands, equipment, and facilities on the sea at the place having the risk of causing obstacles for the use of maritime lines recognized as essential for international maritime.
5. When expiring usage, equipment, and facilities on the sea must be dismantled from the seas of Vietnam, except for the permission of competent agencies for remains of equipment, and facilities on the sea that have not yet been dismantled completely due to technical reasons or be allowed to prolong a time limit, they must be informed clearly position, size, form, depth and must put conformity maritime dangerous and warning signals.
6. Information relating to setting up artificial islands, equipment, and facilities on the sea, making round security belts, and dismantling a part or entire of equipment, and facilities on the sea must be supplied within 15 days before the day of beginning to set up or to dismantle thereof to competent state agencies of Vietnam and published widely in the country and international countries.
Thus, according to the above regulations, artificial islands, equipment, and facilities on Vietnamese waters include:
- Drilling rigs on the sea together with entire other auxiliary parts which ensure normal and consecutive operation of drilling rigs or special-use equipment to explore, exploit, and use sea;
- Types of maritime signals;
- Other equipment, and facilities be installed and used at sea.
What are the regulations on the preservation and protection of resources and sea environment in Vietnamese waters?
Pursuant to Article 35 of the Law on Vietnamese sea 2012, the regulations on the preservation and protection of resources and sea environment on Vietnamese waters are:
- When operating in the sea of Vietnam, vessels, organizations, and individuals must comply with all law of Vietnam and international law relating to the preservation, and protection of resources and the sea environment.
- When transporting, loading, or unloading of types of commodities, equipment having the ability to cause harm to resources, human life, and sea environment pollution, vessels, organizations, and individuals must use equipment and the specialized-use measures as prescribed to prevent and mitigate damages may occur for people, resources and sea environment.
- Vessels, organizations, and individuals are not permitted to release out, sink or bury types of industrial waste, nuclear waster, or other noxious waste in the seas of Vietnam
- Vessels, organizations, and individuals violating provisions of Vietnamese law and relevant international treaties that affect resources and sea environment in seas, seaports, harbors, or shelters of Vietnam shall be handled as prescribed by Vietnamese law and International treaties of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member; if causing damages, they must make the environment clean, remedied and compensation as prescribed by law.
- Organizations and individuals operating at the seas of Vietnam have the obligation of paying taxes, fees, charges, and amounts contributing to protecting the sea environment as prescribed by Vietnamese law and international treaties of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.
LawNet