Vietnam has objected to China’s deployment of two automatic ship identification stations in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago in the East Vietnam Sea, considering it a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday.

“China’s installation and operation of two automatic ship identification stations at Da Bac [North Reef] and Da Bong Bay [Bombay Reef], part of Vietnam's Hoang Sa, is a violation of Vietnam's sovereignty over the archipelago,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang stressed at a press conference in Hanoi on Monday.

Hang was speaking in response to reporters’ questions about Vietnam’s reaction to the acts committed by China in Hoang Sa.

She emphasized that any activities in Hoang Sa without Vietnam’s permission violate Vietnam’s sovereignty and are therefore completely invalid. 

“Vietnam requests that China fully respect Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and not repeat similar infringements,” the spokeswoman stated.

The foreign ministry has repeatedly confirmed that Vietnam has enough historical evidence and legal foundation to prove its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes in the East Vietnam Sea in accordance with international law.  

The two stations, installed at lighthouses located on the said reefs, were put into operation on September 15 to ‘solve the problem of a blind spot’ in the waters around Hoang Sa, VTC News reported, citing Chinese television station CCTV.

These stations are connected to China’s land-based automatic ship identification system and use China’s BeiDou satellite network to locate vessels and transmit signals.

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