Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly protested China’s recent land reclamation on Gac Ma (Johnson South) Reef of the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, considering it a serious violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty.

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“Any unilateral actions by foreign countries to change the status quo on Truong Sa archipelago are a serious violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh said on a press conference held by the ministry in Hanoi on Thursday.

Binh made the statement when asked by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper about Vietnam’s reaction to China’s recent land reclamation on Gac Ma.

“These actions run counter the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and escalate tension in the East Sea and the region”, Binh said.

The spokesperson emphasized that “Vietnam has fully historical and legal evidence to prove its sovereignty over Truong Sa.”

Earlier on Tuesday, BBC published an article by Rupert Wingfield Hayes featuring the operation of China’s island factory on Johnson South Reef of Vietnam.

“China has been doing massive land reclamation work here since January 2014,” Hayes reported. “Millions of tons of rock and sand have been dredged up from the sea floor and pumped into the reef to form a new island.”

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