Quang Ngai province’s Ly Son Island will conduct an international seminar from April 27 to 29 featuring Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes in the East Sea. The event’s organizers expect about 50 international and overseas Vietnamese scholars, local lawyers, researchers, and representatives from relevant ministries, agencies, and localities, to join the seminar on Ly Son, which was home to the Hoang Sa Flotilla, which safeguarded the two archipelagoes hundreds of years ago. The seminar’s participants will be presented with legal and historical evidence proving Vietnam’s continuous exercise of sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in a peaceful manner in accordance with international laws. They will also discuss a series of issues regarding international laws on historical sovereignty, and methods to establish boundary demarcation and territorial sovereignty, which have widely been recognized by international law, Ha Noi Moi newspaper reported on Monday. The event will also include discussions on the peaceful settlement of territorial disputes over the two archipelagoes and other problems related to the East Sea. Two days before the seminar, “Le Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa” (Hoang Sa Soldier Feast and Commemoration Festival) will kick off on Ly Son Island and last until April 29.

This annual festival is a traditional ceremony which has been observed by families on the island for hundreds of years to pay tribute to local men enlisted in the Hoang Sa Flotilla to patrol the two archipelagoes.