Visitors to the exhibition on Vietnam's Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos in Quang Tri province (Photo: VNA) Quang Tri (VNA) – An exhibition of historical and legal evidence proving Vietnam’s sovereigntyover Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos in the East Sea openedin the central province of Quang Tri on October 2.
The event, held in Ai Tu of Trieu Phongdistrict, has on display around 120 photos, documents, and maps collected fromVietnam and other countries.
Many of the exhibits were written in Chinese andNom (Vietnamese script based on Chinese characters) scripts, some dating as farback as the 16th century.
Among them, “Dai Viet su ky tuc bien”(Supplementary Edition of the Annals of the Great Viet), compiled under thedirection of Lord Trinh Sam in 1775, records the Lord’s account of sending asmall fleet to Hoang Sa archipelago to fish and collect abandoned assets tobring back to the southern region.
“Dai Nam thuc luc tien bien” (The First Chapterof the Chronicles of Dai Nam), “Dai Nam thuc luc chinh bien” (The Main Chapterof the Chronicles of Dai Nam), and other documents created under the NguyenDynasty (1802 - 1945) state that the Nguyen kings deployed forces to Hoang Sa to measure andcount the islands, draw maps of them, and plant sovereignty markers, buildtemples, and plant trees there to help boats avoid being stranded whentravelling through the area.
The displayed documents also recorded that thenaval force and the Hoang Sa fleet of the Nguyen Dynasty rescued British andFrench ships stranded in Hoang Sa archipelago.
Some documents written in Cham ethnic scriptalso said the Nguyen Dynasty mobilised residents to establish and exerciseVietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.
The exhibition also showcases maps drawn by Vietnamesepeople between the 17th and 20th centuries, as well as Chinese maps of theirown territories from the 16th to the 20th century – all of which depict HainanIsland as the southernmost point of Chinese territory.
Meanwhile, maps of Vietnampublished by western countries from the 16th to the 20th centuries also confirmthat Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belong to Vietnam.
The exhibition in Quang Tri will last until October5. –VNA
The exhibition in Quang Tri will last until October5. –VNA
VNA
