Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope and regulated entities
1. Scope
a) This Decree provides for assignment of certain sea areas from the mean lowest waterfront in multiple years to all territorial waters of Vietnam to organizations and individuals for the purpose of exploiting and using marine resources according to the written permission for exploitation and use of marine resources granted by the competent authority to organizations and individuals in accordance with regulations of law.
b) The use of sea areas for national defense and security purposes is not covered by this Decree.
2. Regulated entities
This Decree applies to regulatory bodies, organizations and individuals involved in assignment of sea areas for exploitation and use of marine resources.
Article 2. Definitions
For the purposes of this Decree, the terms below shall be construed as follows:
1. “assignment of sea area(s)” means a competent authority deciding to permit an organization or individual to use one or more certain sea areas (hereinafter referred to as “sea areas”) for a given period of time in order to exploit and use marine resources.
2. “sea area assigned to an organization or individual” means a part of Vietnam’s territorial waters whose location, coordinate, boundary, size and depth are determined by one or more components including sea surface, seawater column, seabed and subsoil determined and presented on a sea area map.
3. “inter-regional sea area” means a sea area which lies within two coastal provinces or central-affiliated cities or more or partially lies within and outside a 06-nautical mile waters.
4. “03-nautical mile waters” means a territorial waters whose inner and outer boundaries lie at a distance of 03 nautical miles from the mean lowest waterfront in multiple years.
5. “06-nautical mile waters” means a territorial waters whose inner and outer boundaries lie at a distance of 06 nautical miles from the mean lowest waterfront in multiple years.
6. “written permission for exploitation and use of marine resources” granted by a competent authority to an organization or individual as prescribed by law means:
a) The license to exploit and use marine resources issued to the organization or individual in accordance with special legislation;
b) In case the special legislation does not prescribe form of the license, the written permission means one of the following documents: investment certificate, investment registration certificate prescribed by law; decision issued by a competent authority on conversion from inshore fishing to aquaculture in accordance with the law on fisheries or written confirmation issued by the communal People’s Committee that the Vietnamese individual permanently residing in the commune has his/her major incomes earned from aquaculture; a document issued by a competent authority that permits the organization or individual to perform science and technology tasks; another document that permits the organization or individual to exploit and use marine resources as prescribed by law.
Article 3. Boundaries and size of sea areas
1. Boundary of a sea area is determined by a closed line consisting of straight line segments connecting corner closure points with specific coordinates and shown on the bathymetric map published by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment with an appropriate scale.
2. Size of the sea area assigned to the organization or individual shall be considered and decided in each specific case on the basis of the following factors:
a) The organization’s or individual’s demand for use of the sea area specified in application form for assignment of the sea area or investment project;
b) Area reserved for exploitation and use of marine resources under the written permission for exploitation and use of natural resources granted by the competent authority;
c) A report on appraisal of the application for assignment of the sea area prepared by the competent authority;
d) Safety corridors of works and equipment (if any) under the special legislation.
3. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall determine and announce the mean lowest waterfront in multiple years, outer boundaries of 03-nautical mile and 06-nautical mile waters of the mainland and largest islands in island districts.
Article 4. Rules for assigning a sea area
1. Maintain national defense, security and sovereignty, protect sovereign rights, jurisdiction and maritime interests and conformity with international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.
2. Ensure suitability for natural laws and functions of sea areas based on the ecosystem‐based management of marine resources; meet the demand for exploitation, reasonable, economical and efficient use of natural resources, environmental protection, nature conservation and biodiversity of sea and islands, adaptation to climate change and sea level rise.
3. Ensure the conformity with the national marine spatial planning; comprehensive planning for sustainable exploitation and use of coastal resources.
4. Protect interests of organizations and individuals entitled to legally exploit and use marine resources; protect the people’s right of access to sea.
5. Within a territorial waters, a sea area may be assigned to one or more organizations or individuals to use it for one or more intended uses but such uses must not contradict the legal exploitation and use of marine resources by other organizations or individuals.
Article 5. Bases for assigning a sea area
1. The organization or individual’s demand for use of the sea area for exploitation and use of marine resources.
2. Written permission for exploitation and use of marine resources granted by a competent authority to the organization or individual as prescribed by law.
3. The national marine spatial planning; comprehensive planning for sustainable exploitation and use of coastal resources.
If the national marine spatial planning; the comprehensive planning for sustainable exploitation and use of coastal resources is not available or has been approved but fails to show the sea area to be assigned, the assignment of the sea area shall be based on one of the plannings approved by the competent authority in the following order of priority:
a) National sector planning;
b) Regional planning;
c) Provincial planning;
d) Special administrative - economic unit planning;
dd) Technical and specialized planning.
If the abovementioned plannings are not available, the determination of location, boundary and size in service of sea area assignment shall comply with Clause 4 of this Article.
4. The determination of location, boundary and size in service of sea area assignment in the case where the plannings in Clause 3 of this Article are not available shall comply with the following requirements:
a) The sea area to be used for exploitation and use of marine resources shall ensure that the exploitation and use of marine resources do not affect national defense and security-related activities, sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction and national maritime interests; does not the fulfillment of the obligations specified in relevant international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory;
b) The sea area to be used shall ensure that the exploitation and use of marine resources do not adversely affect the environment, marine ecosystems, aquatic resources, human health and potential for national economic development as prescribed by law;
c) The sea area to be used shall ensure that the exploitation and use of marine resources do not affect safety upon using seaports, navigational channels, petroleum installations, electrical and optical marine cables, co-management of aquatic resources by community organizations and legal exploitation and use of natural resources by organizations and individuals as prescribed by law.
d) The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall determine the location, boundary and size of the sea area which is assigned by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment after collecting comments of the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, other ministries and People's Committees of provinces concerned about the regulations set out in Points a, b and c of this Clause;
dd) The People’s Committee of the coastal province shall determine the location, boundary and size of the sea area which is assigned by the province after collecting comments of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provincial army and police authorities and organizations concerned about the regulations set out in Points a, b and c of this Clause;
e) The People’s Committee of the coastal district shall determine the location, boundary and size of the sea area which is assigned by the district after collecting comments of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, provincial army and police authorities and organizations concerned about the regulations set out in Points a, b and c of this Clause.
Article 6. Duration of assignment and recognition of sea areas
1. Time limit for using a sea area:
a) Except for the case in Point b of this Clause, the duration of assignment of a sea area (hereinafter referred to as "the assignment duration" shall be considered and decided for each specific case on the basis of the application for sea area assignment, investment project and time limit specified in the written permission for exploitation and use of marine resources granted by the competent authority but must not exceed 30 years;
b) Regarding the investment project whose investment guidelines have been approved or decided by a competent authority and which has been issued with the investment registration certificate or investment certificate with an investment duration of over 30 years, the assignment duration may be over 30 years but must not exceed the investment duration specified in the written approval for investment guidelines, decision on investment guidelines, investment registration certificate or investment certificate (except for marine aquaculture projects”);
c) The assignment duration may be extended for multiple times but the total extended period must not exceed 20 years.
2. In the cases where the assignment duration specified in Clause 1 of this Article expires and the organization or individual wishes to continue using the sea area, such organization or individual may be assigned the sea area as prescribed in this Decree if the following conditions are met:
a) The written permission for exploitation and use of marine resources remains effective;
b) The use of the sea area still conforms to the planning as prescribed in Clause 3 Article 5 of this Decree.
3. The effective period of the sea area recognition equals to the remaining effective period of the decision on land allocation or agreement on lease of coastal land with water surface or seawater surface previously issued by the competent authority.
4. The duration of assignment of a sea area for land reclamation shall be considered on the basis of the land reclamation plan of the approved investment project. The organization or individual assigned the sea area for land reclamation in service of project execution is entitled to use the area of land formed after the land reclamation in accordance with regulations of law on land.
Article 7. Rights and obligations of organizations and individuals assigned sea areas
1. An organization or individual assigned a sea area has the right to:
a) Use the sea area for exploitation and use of marine resources according to the decision on sea area assignment;
b) Extend assignment duration or amend the decision on sea area assignment or decision on sea area return;
c) Use information and data related to the assigned sea area as prescribed by law;
d) Receive compensation when a competent authority expropriates the sea area to serve national defense and security purposes and national and public interests as prescribed by law;
dd) File a complaint or lawsuit when legitimate rights and interests of the organization or individual are infringed upon;
e) Exercise other rights as prescribed by law.
2. An organization or individual assigned a sea area has the following obligations:
a) Use the assigned sea area for its intended uses and with the boundary, size, depth, height and duration specified in the decision on sea area assignment; do not infringe the sea; do not violate the planning approved by the competent authority;
b) Do not carry out activities that affect national defense, security, sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction and national maritime interests; do not cause environmental pollution and destroy marine environment and marine ecosystems; do not affect or obstruct maritime traffic; do not obstruct inspection, examination, baseline survey, scientific research, survey, exploration, exploitation and use of marine resources and environment and other legal activities permitted by competent authorities to be carried out within Vietnam’s territorial waters;
c) Protect marine environment; annually report the use of assigned sea areas to the competent that has the power to assign the sea area (hereinafter referred to as “the assigning authority”); do not provide information about the sea area in contravention of the law;
d) Pay sea area usage fees in accordance with the law; only use the sea area after fulfilling all financial obligations as prescribed; prior to using the sea area, notify the assigning authority for on-site assignment of the sea area;
dd) Do not transfer the right to use the assigned sea area, except for the case in Clause 3 of this Article;
e) Do not exploit and use marine resources in the sea area when the competent authority has yet to assign the sea area;
g) Comply with the decision on expropriation of the assigned sea area issued by the competent authority;
h) Fulfill other obligations as prescribed by law.
3. Organizations and individuals assigned a sea area for aquaculture have the rights and obligations mentioned in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article and in Articles 46 and 47 of the Law on Fisheries.
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