Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Countries need to actresponsibly in the East Sea, not complicate the situation, and contribute topreserving peace and security in the waters, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang hassaid.
Hang made the call while responding to questions regardingChina placing undersea cables in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, at theministry’s regular press conference on June 11.
“Vietnam has sufficient historical evidence and legalgrounds affirming its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly)archipelagoes in accordance with international law,” she stressed.
Therefore, any activity relating to the twoarchipelagoes conducted without Vietnam’s permission are violations of its sovereigntyand of no value.
In answer to questions on Vietnam’s response to the USsending a letter to the UN on June 3 protesting China’s claims of sovereignty overthe East Sea, Hang highlighted the attention Vietnam has paid to thecirculation of documents by many UN member countries during the past expressingtheir views on the East Sea situation.
The circulation of such documents occurs regularly betweenUN member countries, she added.
Vietnam’s stance on the East Sea issue, coveringsovereignty, sovereign rights, and legal maritime rights is clear andconsistent and has been repeated many times.
Vietnam has sufficient historical evidence and legalgrounds affirming its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoesas well as legal rights to its waters as defined in line with the 1982 UnitedNations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), she reiterated.
The international community and the UN, she added, attachimportance to UN member states’ views that promote and observe internationallaw, including the 1982 UNCLOS./.
VNA
