The People’s Committee of central Thua Thien-Hue province has sent to the Foreign Ministry an ancient document affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago.

Written on November 6, 1759, the document was previously placed at My Loi village’s communal house in Phu Loc district.

According to Tran Van Luyen, Secretary of the Vinh My communal Party Committee, the document features the settlement of a dispute between An Bang precinct (now An Bang village, Vinh An commune, Phu Vang district) and My Loi village involving a boat and subsidies to crewmen stationed in Hoang Sa.

It thus shows that the Nguyen dynasty deployed troops to Hoang Sa archipelago 250 years ago, he said.

Established in 1562, My Loi village was first inhabited by fishermen migrated from the north. It is now home to 1,400 households with 6,000 people.

In 2000, My Loi became the first typical cultural village in Thua Thien-Hue province. Its communal house was also recognised as a national historic, cultural and architectural site.

The provincial People’s Committee presented a certificate of merit to the village for keeping the Hoang Sa-related document.-VNA