SpokesmanNghi made the statement after the Chinese national news agency (Xinhua)on April 7 said the Coconut Princess cruise ship of the Haixie HainanMaritime Transport Joint Stock Company began its pilot voyage fromSanya, Hainan, to Da Bac island of the Hoang Sa archipelago on theevening of April 6.
He went on to say, “China’s above-mentionedactivity is illegal and seriously violates Vietnam’s sovereignty andgoes contrary to the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Partiesin the East Sea (DOC).
“China must immediately stop itsactivity, strictly abide by DOC and have no further action to complicatethe situation in the East Sea,” he concluded.-VNA