The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 12 held a regular press briefing in Hanoi. Deputy spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang chaired the meeting. At the event, she updated information on Vietnam's reaction to the ruling of the Philippine Supreme Court on January 10 that said the country’s energy exploration deal with Chinese and Vietnamese firms in 2005 was unconstitutional as well as the UK's Supreme Court ruled on January 6 that Ronan Hughes, the head of an illegal human trafficking ring that caused the lorry tragedy involving 39 Vietnamese citizens in 2019, has to pay 180,000 GBP (218,820 USD) in compensation for the victims.
Regarding the first issue, the deputy spokesperson made clear that Vietnam has sufficient legal foundation and historical evidence affirming its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in accordance with international law, and has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over sea areas established under the UNCLOS 1982.
As a coastal country and a member of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, Vietnam believes that all activities of international cooperation, including maritime cooperation, need to be in line with international law, especially the UNCLOS, stated Foreign Ministry's Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang.
Related to the second issue, Foreign Ministry's Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang informed that, the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK has reported that the UK's Supreme Court ruled on January 6 that Ronan Hughes, the head of an illegal human trafficking ring that caused the lorry tragedy involving 39 Vietnamese citizens in 2019, has to pay 180,000 GBP (218,820 USD) in compensation for the victims.
Hang said that this is just an initial ruling, and its enforcement may be complicated, taking a relatively long time in line with UK law. In case that Hughes, who is serving a 20-year imprisonment sentence, does not implement the ruling, he will receive two more years in jail, she said.
Hang added that the Foreign Ministry has directed the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK to continue keeping a close eye on the case, update the information and stay ready to roll out necessary measures to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese citizens.
On October 23, 2019, 39 Vietnamese were found dead in the back of a refrigerated lorry at an industrial estate in Grays in Essex, near London, not far from the ferry terminal where the truck had arrived from Belgium.
Autopsies concluded that the provisional cause of death of the victims was a combination of hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, and hyperthermia, or overheating, in an enclosed space. Four people-smugglers were sentenced by the Old Bailey Court in London to a combined 78 years in jail for 39 counts of manslaughter and a people-smuggling conspiracy on January 22, 2021.
