Vietnam took aim at China on Thursday for imposing an annual ban on fishing in a vast area of the South China Sea, calling it a violation of its sovereignty and urging Beijing not to complicate matters.
China has imposed the ban each year since 1999 and Vietnam routinely opposes it. China says the ban, which will apply from May 1 to Aug. 16, is to promote sustainable fishing and improve marine ecology.
It covers waters 12 degrees north of the equator and includes parts of Vietnam's 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as well as the Paracel islands, which the two countries have both occupied and have contested for decades.
