A representative from the Foreign Ministry’s National Border Committee has said Vietnam has sufficient legal and historical evidence to affirm its sovereignty over Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagos.

The statement was given on July 18 in the context that on July 15, Taiwan’s Liberty Times website reported that Taiwan is considering extending a runway an additional 500m on Ba Binh island in Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago.

The same day, the Taiwan Central News Agency (CNA) reported that Taiwan sent a delegation of young scholars of Cheng Gong University to visit the island.

“Activities of parties in Truong Sa archipelago without Vietnam’s permission violate Vietnam’s sovereignty and international laws, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, go against the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and cause tension in the East Sea,” the representative stressed.

The representative also asked Taiwan to stop similar activities and plans.

Earlier, in an article dated July 11 on the Feng Huang website (Hong Kong), member of Taiwan Kuomingtang Party Central Committee Qie Yi said the waters around Tai Ping island (which is called Ba Binh by Vietnam) belong to Taiwan.

Responding to reporters’ queries, the Foreign Ministry’s National Border Committee representative rejected the “wrong statement”.

Source: VNA