Vietnam has full historical evidence and legal basis to support its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, State President Truong Tan Sang said in the U.S. on Sunday.

The Vietnamese leader made the statement during his meeting with representatives of the Vietnamese communities in New York, employees of the Vietnamese Embassy in the U.S., and a number of his international friends.

The meeting was held on the occasion of President Sang’s attendance at the UN Summit on sustainable development held at the UN headquarters at the invitation of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.   

“We have made the best use of attending the summit to present Vietnam’s viewpoint on measures to keep peace and protect national sovereignty,” President Sang said.

Vietnam is determined to protect its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and settle all disputes on the basis of international law, he added.

“I expect overseas Vietnamese and American friends to support Vietnam’s just stance,” he said.

In reply to a question of an overseas Vietnamese about Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, President Sang said every Vietnamese clearly remembers that China used force to attack and occupy Hoang Sa and seven reefs of Truong Sa.

“Our ancestors publicly managed the two archipelagos not by force but by peaceful and civil measures,” the Vietnamese leader said, adding that Vietnamese people have long conducted aquatic resource exploitation activities in these archipelagos.

Hoang Sa and Truong Sa are the sacred territories of Vietnam, so the country is exerting maximum effort to protect its sovereignty over the two archipelagos, President Sang said.

“Vietnam is trying to protect its sovereignty in accordance with international law and the laws of the country,” he said. 

Vietnam wishes the international community to clearly understand this reality, the leader added.

The Southeast Asian country calls on the U.S. and other nations in the world to be always on the side of its righteous stance.

President Sang also pointed out that Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa was recognized at an important international conference, held in San Francisco in 1951.

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