On Thursday, the Hoang Sa fishery surveillance officers handed Tuoi Tre reporters and readers the national flag which had been proudly hung and fluttered on one of Vietnam’s ships during the almost ten days of fighting steadfastly against China to safeguard the country’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago.

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Nguyen Cao Duy, Captain of HP 926 fishery surveillance ship, and Officer Dinh Kim Thao, honorably gave two Tuoi Tre reporters the flag, which had been hung on top of the ship since China has illegally deployed the Haiyang 981 oil rig in Vietnam’s waters since early May.

The newspaper, which has sent reporters to the site since the very first days, is also the fastest local news agency to fully cover the fight.

The HP 926 was dispatched right after China’s oil rig deployment and has been steadfast to their mission of protecting Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago.

Captain Duy shared that the flag was hoisted onto the HP 926’s mast right on May 7, the 60th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory, Vietnam’s decisive triumph over French troops in 1954.

The ship also went past Vung Chua- Dao Yen in central Quang Binh province, where legendary general Vo Nguyen Giap, the mastermind and commander of the Dien Bien Phu battle along with several others, was laid to rest.

Captain Duy ordered the steersman to turn the ship’s prow to the west and blew three long horn tones to pay tribute to the general, who passed away in October 2013 and is still deeply mourned by locals and people in the world.

“The unplanned gesture has cemented our determination to win this fight,” he stressed.

The Vietnamese HP 926 ship is also surrounded by many Chinese marine surveillance and police ships.

Each time the HP 926 approached China’s Haiyang 981 oil rig and was attacked with China’s water cannons, Tuoi Tre reporters saw the Vietnamese sailors fix the flag and hoist it to the highest position, which stands for the Vietnamese soldiers’ unyieldingness in safeguarding Vietnam’s sovereignty.

The flag is witness to the HP 926’s first feat in fighting back Chinese ships’ water cannon attack on May 12.

After all the attacks, the flag remains intact and is on its way to Tuoi Tre’s office in Ho Chi Minh City, where it will be placed in a reverent position.

Captain Duy shared that the HP 926 crew gifted the flag exclusively to Tuoi Tre and its readers as its reporters have stood by the crew members from the start and were the quickest to accurately and fully cover the feat.

In addition, Tuoi Tre readers have always been hugely supportive of the cause in safeguarding Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos through several Tuoi Tre-initiated fund-raising programs.

The latest program, Tuoi Tre’s “Chung suc bao ve chu quyen bien Dong” (Jointly safeguarding Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea), was launched immediately after China deployed its oil rig in Vietnamese waters.

Three years ago, Tuoi Tre’s “Gop da xay Truong Sa” (Contributing stones to build Truong Sa) was also initiated as soon as Chinese ships cut off the cables of Binh Minh ship, which was prospecting for oil on Vietnam’s continental shelf.

The two programs have provided timely, considerable mental and financial help to the HP 926 crew, Captain Duy added.