India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee calls on China to respect Hague ruling

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The India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee, an India-based non-governmental panel, has urged China to obey the final ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague on July 12, the Vietnam News Agency reported on July 21, citing panel President Greetesh Sharma.

The committee supported the judgment, which rejected China’s groundless claim of “historic rights” over the waters within the “nine-dash line,” in Vietnam’s East Sea, internationally known as the South China Sea.

In a statement released on July 20, the committee said China is damaging its international image by trying to bully smaller claimants in the dispute.

India also has border disputes with China and is a victim of China’s unilateralism. India, however, will not exchange its sovereignty for friendship with China, the statement said.

The statement has been sent to more than 100 diplomatic offices, government agencies and research organizations in New Delhi and West Bengal.

In a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on July 12, India asserted that all parties should respect the ruling. “India supports freedom of navigation and over flight and unimpeded commerce based on the principles of international law as reflected notably in the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS),” The IndianExpress reported last week, quoting the MEA.

Vietnam welcomed the ruling after it was announced and said it will issue a statement in detail on the content of the judgment at a later date.

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