In furtherance of Paragraph 1 of the declaration of May 12, 1977 of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam concerning the territorial waters, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf which was already approved by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam hereby defines the baseline used to measure the width of the territorial waters of Vietnam:
1. The baseline used to measure the width of the territorial waters of the continental part of Vietnam is constituted by straight lines linking the points the coordinates of which are mentioned in the Annex enclosed in this declaration.
2. The baseline used to measure the width of the territorial waters of Vietnam going from point 0-the meeting point of the two baselines used to measure the width of the territorial waters of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and that of the People's Republic of Kampuchea, located on the high sea and on a straight line linking the Tho Chu Archipelago to the Poulo Wai Island - to Con Co Island the coordinates of which are defined in the above-said Annex, is drawn on maps of the 1/100,000 scale of the Vietnam People's Navy published prior to 1979.
3. The Bac Bo Gulf is a gulf situated between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the People's Republic of China. The maritime frontier drawn in the gulf between Vietnam and China is defined in Article 2 of the Convention on the Delimitation of the Frontier between Vietnam and China signed on June 27, 1887 between France and the Qing Dynasty. The waters in the part of the gulf belonging to Vietnam constitute the historic waters pertaining to the juridical regime of the internal waters of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The baseline from Con Co Island to the opening of the gulf will be determined following the settlement of the question of the opening line of the Gulf.
4. The baseline used to measure the width of the territorial waters of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa Archipelagos win be determined in an ensuing text in conformity with Paragraph 5 of the declaration of May 12, 1977 of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
5. The waters situated on this side of the baseline of the territorial waters facing the coast and islands of Vietnam form the internal waters of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
6. The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam will solve with the countries concerned through negotiations on the basis of mutual respect for each other's independence and sovereignty and in conformity with international law and practice the differences concerning the sea zones and the continental shelf of each country.
ANNEX
Coordinates of the Points on the Baseline for Measuring the Width of Vietnam's Territorial Waters (Enclosed in the 12 November 1982 Declaration)