Vietnam has once again affirmed that it has sufficient historical and legal evidence to prove its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

The Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to the United Nations made the statement in Diplomatic Note No. 77/HC-2011 it sent to the UN Secretary General on May 3, saying that the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos are an integral part of Vietnamese territory.

The move came after the Philippine Permanent Delegation to the UN on April 5 addressed a diplomatic note to the UN chief to reject the “U-shaped line” claim of China, and the Chinese Permanent Delegation to the UN on April 14 sent a diplomatic note to the UN Secretary General to express its opinions on the Philippine delegation’s diplomatic note.

Both diplomatic notes of the Philippines and China mentioned the issue of sovereignty over the Truong Sa archipelago./.