A Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has asserted Vietnam’s indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, and demanded a stop to actions violating the country’s sovereignty.
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A Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has asserted Vietnam’s indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, and demanded a stop to actions violating the country’s sovereignty.
In reply to reporters’ questions on recent reports that several Taiwanese officials have visited Ba Binh island of the Truong Sa (or Spratly) archipelago and “announced sovereignty” over the archipelago, Foreign Ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi said this is an action violating Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Truong Sa archipelago, causing tensions and further complicating the situation in the East Sea.
“Vietnam protests the arrival of Taiwanese officials on Ba Binh island of the Truong Sa archipelago and their claim of sovereignty over the island. Vietnam demands Taiwan immediately stop the aforementioned action,” Nghi stressed at a press conference in Hanoi on May 10.
Spokesman Nghi also answered questions about China’s oil and gas exploitation activities, including putting the 981 oil rig into operation in the East Sea.
“We think that activities of countries in the East Sea need to comply with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the spirit of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and not to violate the sovereignty, sovereignty and jurisdiction rights of other nations, thus contributing to peace and stability in the East Sea,” he said.
In reply to another question on wrong information on Vietnam ’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa or Paracel archipelago on Google Maps website, spokesman Nghi reiterated Vietnam ’s indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and the Truong Sa archipelagos.
He affirmed, “Information that fails to reflect the fact is totally wrong and worthless. We are ready to share with publishers and printing companies accurate documents and map data on Vietnam ’s sovereignty in the East Sea.”
“The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently met Google representatives to affirm Vietnam’s stance that the wording of the map on Google Maps wrongly reflects Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, and Google has corrected these mistakes,” the spokesperson said.
(Source: VN+)
