04 seas of Vietnam subject to planning till 2030

04 seas of Vietnam subject to planning till 2030 (Image from internet)

On June 28, 2024, the National Assembly of Vietnam issued Resolution 139/2024/QH15 on the National Marine Spatial Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050.

04 seas of Vietnam subject to planning till 2030

According to Clause 2, Article 4 of Resolution 139/2024/QH15 on zoning the use of marine space, the content of zoning and planning for the 04 seas of our country are as follows:

(1) Northern maritime zone

- Restricted exploitation zone: Total area approximately 12 thousand hectares, including 18 zones restricted for marine conservation purposes and 08 reserve zones;

- Conditional exploitation zone: Total area approximately 478 thousand hectares, including 31 conditional exploitation zones for conservation and protection purposes and 68 other conditional exploitation zones;

- Special protection area: Total area approximately 43 thousand hectares, including 155 areas;

- Encouraged development area:

+ Priority development zones: Total area approximately 167 thousand hectares, including 04 priority zones for tourism development and 11 priority zones for port service development;

+ Potential exploitation and development zones: Total area approximately 2,245 thousand hectares, including potential zones for oil and gas exploitation; potential zones for construction material exploitation; potential zones for placer mineral exploitation; potential zones for wind power development;

+ Multi-purpose use area: Approximately 380 thousand hectares;

(2) Central maritime zone

- Restricted exploitation zone: Total area approximately 45 thousand hectares, including 38 zones restricted for marine conservation purposes and 20 reserve zones;

- Conditional exploitation zone: Total area approximately 20,441 thousand hectares, including 73 conditional exploitation zones for conservation and protection; 96 other conditional exploitation zones;

- Special protection area: Total area approximately 22 thousand hectares, including 62 areas;

- Encouraged development area:

+ Priority development zones: Total area approximately 267 thousand hectares, including 19 priority zones for tourism development and 28 priority zones for port service development;

+ Potential exploitation and development zones: Total area approximately 18,671 thousand hectares, including potential zones for oil and gas exploitation; potential zones for gas hydrate exploitation; potential zones for construction material exploitation; potential zones for placer mineral exploitation; potential zones for deep-sea metal mineral exploitation; potential zones for wind power development;

+ Multi-purpose use area: Approximately 23,897 thousand hectares;

(3) Southeastern maritime zone

- Restricted exploitation zone: Total area approximately 2.3 thousand hectares, including 10 zones restricted for marine conservation purposes and reserve zones;

- Conditional exploitation zone: Total area approximately 361 thousand hectares, including 04 conditional exploitation zones for conservation and protection purposes; 11 other conditional exploitation zones;

- Special protection area: Total area approximately 6 thousand hectares, including 17 areas;

- Encouraged development area:

+ Priority development zones: Total area approximately 73 thousand hectares, including 04 priority zones for tourism development and 02 priority zones for port service development;

+ Potential exploitation and development zones: Total area approximately 11,316 thousand hectares, including potential zones for oil and gas exploitation; potential zones for gas hydrate exploitation; potential zones for construction material exploitation; potential zones for placer mineral exploitation; potential zones for deep-sea metal mineral exploitation; potential zones for wind power development;

+ Multi-purpose use area: Approximately 5,810 thousand hectares;

(4) Southwestern maritime zone

- Restricted exploitation zone: Total area approximately 15 thousand hectares, including 22 zones restricted for marine conservation purposes and 08 reserve zones;

- Conditional exploitation zone: Total area approximately 1,128 thousand hectares, including 23 conditional exploitation zones for conservation and protection purposes; 51 other conditional exploitation zones;

- Special protection area: Total area approximately 112 thousand hectares, including 33 areas;

- Encouraged development area:

+ Priority development zones: Total area approximately 416 thousand hectares, including 03 priority zones for tourism development, 11 priority zones for port service development, and 28 priority zones for wind power development;

+ Potential exploitation and development zones: Total area approximately 2,400 thousand hectares, including potential zones for oil and gas exploitation; potential zones for construction material exploitation; potential zones for placer mineral exploitation; potential zones for wind power development;

+ Multi-purpose use area: Approximately 10,313 thousand hectares;

Additionally, Resolution 139/2024/QH15 also outlines the zoning for the following maritime areas:

* Zones continuing to be researched for spatial usage include part of the historic waters of Vietnam - Cambodia, extended continental shelf areas beyond 200 nautical miles, seas of the islands belonging to the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes.

Specifically for seas of the islands belonging to the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes, further research, identification of areas for protection, marine conservation, fishing, search and rescue, ensuring national defense and security. Regarding conservation: research, identify the Nam Yet Marine Protected Area with a total area approximately 23 thousand hectares, Thuyen Chai Marine Protected Area with a total area approximately 83 thousand hectares, Song Tu Marine Protected Area with a total area approximately 14 thousand hectares; regarding fishing: research, identify fishing grounds.

Name and scope of the National Marine Spatial Planning

According to Article 1 of Resolution 139/2024/QH15, the content is as follows:

- Planning name: National Marine Spatial Planning for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050.

- Planning scope: National Marine Spatial Planning includes coastal lands, islands, archipelagos, seas, and Vietnamese airspace, specifically:

+ Coastal land is the mainland of district-level administrative units with sea in 28 provinces, centrally governed cities with sea;

+ Islands, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, and other archipelagos under Vietnamese sovereignty in accordance with international law;

+ The maritime zone includes internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf under Vietnamese sovereignty, sovereign rights, and national jurisdiction, determined in accordance with Vietnamese law, international treaties on territorial borders of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member, and in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982;

+ The airspace over coastal land, islands, archipelagos, and seas according to Vietnamese law and international treaties of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

More details can be found in Resolution 139/2024/QH15 issued on June 28, 2024.

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