Viet Nam has demanded China stop and not repeat any military exercises on its Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands, asserting that they violate Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the archipelago.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lê Thị Thu Hằng made the above statement on Thursday in reply to a query about China’s military drill scheduled to take place in the northern part of the East Sea between Hainan island and the Paracel islands from August 6-10.
Viet Nam has repeatedly affirmed that it has full legal basis and historical evidence to assert its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos in accordance with international law.
China’s military exercises in Hoang Sa archipelago area violate Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the archipelago, go against the spirit of the Declaration of Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and complicate the situation. Such exercises are neither conducive to the ongoing negotiation process between ASEAN and China on the Code of Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (COC) nor the maintenance of the East Sea as a sea of peace, stability and cooperation./.
