Vietnam’s Legal Regulations on Submarine Cables

Telecom Law 2009 [14]

Article 57. Planning of telecommunications works

1. Public telecommunications works are given priority in using spaces, ground surface, underground spaces, river bed and sea bed. Public telecommunications service provision spots may be located first of all at railway stations, car terminals, seaports, airports, border gates and other public places to satisfy needs of telecommunications service users.

Telecom Law 2023 
[15]

Article 13. Rights and obligations of telecommunications enterprises

2. Providers of network infrastructure services have the following rights and obligations:

b) To be allowed to preferentially use space, ground surface, underground space, river bed, sea bed, and public land for building telecommunications infrastructure under the planning, technical standards and regulations;

Ministry of Construction’s Circular No. 06/2021/TT-BXD 
[16]

Note 1.3.9. About the importance of Telecommunication signal transmission line

The multinational lines are classified as the construction with the highest level of importance [17].

Prime Minister’s Decision No. 36/QĐ-TTg [18]

Part II. Development requirements

Article 2.a (development requirements until 2025): Implement and invest in 2-4 additional international telecommunications cable lines.

Article 2.a (development requirements until 2030): develop 4-6 more international undersea fiber optic cable lines by 2030.

Law of the Sea 2012 [19]

Article 16. Legal status of the exclusive economic zone

The State of Vietnam respects the freedoms of navigation and overflight, the right to lay submarine cables and pipelines and lawful uses of the sea by other states in Vietnam’s EEZ in accordance with this Law and treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party, provided that those operations are not detrimental to the sovereign rights, jurisdiction and national maritime interests of Vietnam.

The laying of submarine cables and pipelines is subject to written consent of competent Vietnamese authorities.

Article 18. Legal status of the continental shelf

The State of Vietnam respects the right to lay submarine cables and pipelines and other lawful uses of the sea by other states on the continental shelf of Vietnam in accordance with this Law and treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party, provided that those operations are not detrimental to the sovereign rights, jurisdiction and national maritime interests of Vietnam.

The laying of submarine cables and pipelines is subject to written consent of competent Vietnamese authorities.

Telecommunications Law 2009

Article 34. Telecommunications licenses

3. Licenses for telecommunications operations include:

a) License for installation of undersea telecommunications cable lines which is valid for 25 years or less and granted to organizations that install undersea telecommunications cable lines ashore or across the internal waters, territorial seas, continental shelf or  exclusive economic zones of Vietnam;

Article 37.

Conditions on grant of licenses for telecommunications operations

1. A Vietnamese or foreign organization will be granted a license for installation of undersea telecommunications cable lines when fully satisfying the following conditions:

a) Committing to complying with provisions of Vietnamese laws;

b) Committing to refraining from causing pollution of the marine environment:

c) Committing to refraining from performing activities other than survey, installation, maintenance and repair of telecommunications cable lines;

d) Providing adequate, accurate and timely information related to cable lines to the specialized management agency in charge of telecommunications:

e) Submit to the inspection, supervision and control by competent state agencies upon conducting survey, installation, maintenance or repair of cable lines in Vietnamese seas and bear all expenses for inspection, control or instruction activities.

Telecom Law 2023 [20]

Article 8. National plan on telecommunications development

1. National plan on telecommunications development is integrated into the information and communications infrastructure planning, with a view to setting objectives, principles and orientations for development of telecommunications market, infrastructure, technologies and services and solutions thereto.

Article 33. Telecommunications license

3. Licenses for telecommunications operations include:

a) License for installation of undersea telecommunications cable lines which is valid for 25 years or less and granted to organizations that install undersea telecommunications cable lines ashore or across the Vietnam’s maritime zones;

Article 38. Conditions on grant of licenses for telecommunications operations

1. A Vietnamese or foreign organization will be granted a license for installation of undersea telecommunications cable lines when fully satisfying the following conditions:

a) Committing to complying with provisions of Vietnamese laws;

b) Committing to refraining from causing pollution of the marine environment:

c) Committing to refraining from performing activities other than survey, installation, maintenance, repair and un-installation of telecommunications cable lines;

d) Providing project proposal to install telecommunications cables at sea in accordance with the master plan on information and communication infrastructure; the law  and regulations on national defense, security and environmental protection; and other relevant law and regulations;

e) Submit to the inspection, supervision and control by competent state agencies upon conducting survey, installation, maintenance, repair or un-installation of cable lines in Vietnamese seas and bear all expenses for inspection, control or instruction activities.

Article 43. Charge for the right to telecommunications operation

1. Charge for the right to telecommunications operation is a sum of money payable by an organization to the State to be entitled to establish a telecommunications network or provide telecommunications services. This charge shall be determined on the basis of scope and size of the telecommunications network and telecommunications service turnover; volume and value of allocated telecommunications resources: level of use of space, ground surface, underground space, river bed and sea bed for establishing the telecommunications network or building telecommunications works and public telecommunications service points.

Circular No 273/2016/TT-BTC [21]

Fee chart (Annex)

(Author’s interpretation of the document’s labelling): License fee for laying, repairing and maintaining submarine cables is VND 1,000,000 per project per visit. Fee for license renewal, re-issuance or amendment is VND 500,000/project. [22]

Law of the Sea of Vietnam 2012

Article 24. Obligations while conducting innocent passage

Foreign organizations and individuals, while conducting innocent passage in Vietnam’s territorial sea are obliged to observe Vietnamese laws and regulation on:

c) Protection of cables and pipes;

Decree No. 162/2013/ND-CP [25]

Article 14. Violations against regulations on laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and exploitation of tidal and wind energy within the territorial waters, islands and continental shelf

1. A fine ranging from VND 400,000,000 to VND 500,000,000 shall be imposed for drilling or cutting or performing any acts aimed to adversely affect normal operations of submarine cables and pipelines legally installed within the territorial waters, islands and continental shelf of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

A fine ranging from VND 800,000,000 to VND 1,000,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

a) Installation of submarine cables and pipelines without obtaining a written approval from a competent authority of Vietnam;

b) Illegal exploitation of tidal energy, wind energy and other non-living resources.

Decree No. 174/2013/ND-CP [26]

Article 17. Violations against regulations on license to install submarine telecommunications cables

1. A fine ranging from VND 100,000,000 to VND 140,000,000 shall be imposed for provision of inaccurate or insufficient information concerning cable routes to Ministry of Information and Communications.

2. A fine ranging from VND 140,000,000 to VND 170,000,000 shall be imposed for construction or installation of cable routes inconsistently with diagram or coordinates of cable routes licensed by a competent state authority. A fine ranging from VND 170,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Doing works other than survey, installation, maintenance or repair of telecommunications cable routes within the territorial waters of Vietnam;

b) Performing the survey, installation, maintenance or repair of telecommunications cable routes without obtaining the permission from a competent state authority. Suspend the license to install submarine telecommunications cables for 01 - 03 months

Criminal Code No. 100/2015/QH13 [27]

Article 286. Spreading software programs harmful for computer networks, telecommunications networks or electronic devices

1. Any person who deliberately spreads a software program that is harmful for a computer network, telecommunications network or an electronic device in any of the following circumstances shall be liable to a fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 or face a penalty of up to 03 years' community sentence or 06 - 36 months' imprisonment.

Article 287. Obstruction or disturbance of computer networks, telecommunications networks or electronic devices

1. Any person who deletes, damages or changes a software program or electronic data or illegally obstructs the transmission of data of a computer network, telecommunications network or an electronic device or otherwise obstructs or disturbs a computer network, telecommunications network or an electronic device in any of the following circumstances, except for the cases in Article 286 and Article 289 hereof, shall be liable to a fine of from VND 30,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 or face a penalty of 06 - 36 months' imprisonment.

2. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a fine of from VND 200,000,000 to VND 1,000,000,000 or a penalty of 03 - 07 years' imprisonment:

e) The offence results in suspension or the computer network, telecommunications network or electronic device for a period from 24 hours to under 168 hours or from 10 to under 50 times within 24 hours;

3. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 07 - 12 years' imprisonment:

a) The offence is committed against a system of data which is classified information or an information system serving national defense and security.