Vietnam strongly protests China’s establishment of the so-called “Sansha city” and related acts in the East Vietnam Sea as they seriously violate Vietnam’s sovereignty, the Vietnamese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said on Sunday.

China announced on Saturday the formation of the so-called “Xisha district” at Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, and “Nansha district” at the Southeast Asian country's Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, in the so-called “Sansha city” in the East Vietnam Sea.

“Vietnam has strongly affirmed many times that the country has sufficient historical evidence and legal foundation to assert its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos,” Hang stressed on Sunday.

Those moves of China are invalid and unrecognized, and they are not favorable for the friendship among nations and further complicate the situation in the East Vietnam Sea, the region, and the world, she added.

“Vietnam demands that China respect Vietnam’s sovereignty, abolish its wrongful decisions related to the moves, and not commit similar acts in the future,” the spokesperson asserted.

Vo Ngoc Dong, chairman of the Vietnamese administration in Hoang Sa, also issued a statement on Saturday objecting to China’s so-called “Sansha city.”

“The Hoang Sa District People’s Committee, which is administered by Vietnam’s central city of Da Nang and directly manages Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago, resolutely objects to China’s decision to establish the so-called ‘Xisha district’ and ‘Nansha district’ in the so-called ‘Sansha city,’” Dong stated.

Vietnam was the first country to explore, possess, and establish sovereignty in a continuous and peaceful manner on the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands, he continued.

The Hoang Sa District People’s Committee demands that China immediately stop its illegal activities in the two archipelagos.

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