Nghi made the request in Hanoi on April 30 while answering reporters’ queries on Vietnam’s response to some recent acts of China on the area of Hoang Sa archipelago, including the senior Chinese officials’ cutting of the ribbon to inaugurate the Xinhua bookstore on Hoang Sa’s Phu Lam island, bringing tourists to the archipelago and preparing for a fishing competition on the Hoang Sa archipelago area.
“Vietnam affirms its indisputable sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago. The above-mentioned actions of the Chinese side seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty and ran counter to the agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues between Vietnam and China,” the spokesperson said.
Those acts did not comply with the Joint Statement of the 15 th ASEAN-China Summit on the 10 th Anniversary of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and violated the DOC, causing tension and complicating the East Sea situation, he added.
Regarding China’s move to bring tourists to Hoang Sa archipelago, on the same day, Chairman of the Da Nang city People’s Committee Van Huu Chien affirmed that Hoang Sa is an island district of central Da Nang city and an inseparable part of Vietnam’s territory.
China ’s bringing of tourists to Hoang Sa violated Vietnam’s sovereignty and stirred up a discontent among the Da Nang authorities and people, he said.
“We strongly oppose the aforesaid illegal action and request China to immediately put an end to organising tours and other activities on Hoang Sa archipelago,” he stressed.-VNA
