German Ambassador talks about South China Sea joint UN note of E3 opposing China
- Three European powers reject China’s South China Sea claims
- Foreign experts criticise China’s actions in South China Sea
- South China Sea International Conference opens in Hanoi
 |
| German Ambassador Guido Hildner (center) responding press' queries on September 30. |
Responding the query of a reporter about the South China Sea joint UN note of three European powers opposing China, German Ambassador Guido Hildner on September 30 stated, this is not the first time that the UK, France and Germany have publicly expressed their views on the South China Sea issue to the UN.
Especially, Germany jointly sent a note to the UN to reaffirm its position of uphold international law in the South China Sea. Germany wants issues in the South China Sea to be resolved based on international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
 |
| A satellite photo of China-occupied Subi Reef at Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands. Photo: DigitalGlobe. |
The Ambassador said that UNCLOS is a comprehensive guideline to solve problems when disputes arise because it includes the definition of sea area, sovereignty and settlement measures.
"When there is a tense debate among the countries along the South China Sea, we need to reiterate our view. New arguments in the debate do not change our policy. Vietnam and Germany work closely together in favor of a rules-based order and multilateralism, including respect for international law, upholding freedom of navigation and freedom", said Hildner.
The U.K., France and Germany, also known as the Europe Big Three on September 16 stated China’s exercise of its so-called "historic rights" in the South China Sea, which Vietnam calls the East Sea, does not comply with international law.
In the joint note, the Europe Big Three, as state parties to the 1982 UNCLOS, reaffirmed that the integrity of UNCLOS needs to be maintained, and underlined the importance of unhampered exercise of the freedom of the high seas, in particular the freedom of navigation and over flight.
