Vietnam demands that China stop its wrongdoings on the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, over which Vietnam has indisputable sovereignty, said Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi. Nghi made the demand yesterday, April 30, while replying to reporters’ questions on Vietnam’s response to China conducting some activities recently in the Hoang Sa archipelago area. These wrongdoings included the cutting of the ribbon by Chinese officials to inaugurate the Xinhua bookstore on Hoang Sa’s Phu Lam island, taking tourists to Hoang Sa and preparing for a fishing competition in the archipelago area. Vietnam has irrefutable sovereignty over the archipelago, so such actions blatantly violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, did not comply with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and went against the Joint Statement of the 15th ASEAN-China Summit on the 10th Anniversary of the DOC. Those actions were not in line with the agreement on basic principles for settlement of sea-related issues between Vietnam and China, causing tension in the East Sea, he added. “We request that China stop the above-mentioned wrongdoings in order not to affect peace and stability in the East Sea,” Nghi said.Da Nang objects to China’s move 

Also yesterday the chairman of the Da Nang city People’s Committee, Van Huu Chien, affirmed that Hoang Sa is an island district of the city and an integral part of Vietnam’s territory. “The bringing of tourists to Hoang Sa by China violated Vietnam’s sovereignty and caused discontent among the Da Nang government and people,” Chien said.

The official emphasized that Da Nang strongly opposes the illegal action and requests that China stop organizing tours as well as other activities on the Hoang Sa archipelago immediately. Earlier on April 28, Assoc. Professor Dr Pham Dang Phuoc, headmaster of Pham Van Dong University in central Quang Ngai Province, said at an international seminar held in the province that Vietnam has established and exercised its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos in a peaceful and continuous manner for centuries. Therefore, any use of force to occupy them blatantly violates the United Nations Charter and related international laws, Phuoc said. Vietnam’s evidence of its sovereignty over the two archipelagos is very clear and this is an important foundation for the country to execute its sovereignty over the islands, Professor Nguyen Quang Ngoc, from the Vietnam Historical Science Association, told the seminar.