The Vietnamese Government issued on Feb.21 a declaration establishing the baseline for measuring the breadth of Vietnam’s territorial waters in the Gulf of Tonkin, the VnExpress newspaper reported.

The declaration, announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, follows Resolution No. 68 dated Feb. 14, 2025 of the National Assembly Standing Committee.

According to the Reuters news agency, 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 Feb.21 was to help protect and enforce its sovereign rights.

Baselines, according to the Reuters, 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........

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