On June 14, China’s Xinhua news agency reported that the so-called government "Sansha City" (Hainan,China) broke ground on a school project on “Yong Xing” island, which is Phu Lam island belonging to Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago.

This is a serious act of infringement upon Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago in the East Sea.

The news agency quoted Municipal Party Secretary and "Sansha" Mayor Xiao Jet as saying  the school and the related works are one of the key social welfare projects of "Sansha City" in 2014.

This 36 million Yuan project is expected to take 18 months to complete and has a total planned area of 7,924 m2 and construction area of 4,650 m2.

The infrastructure facilities include a library, archives, playground, multipurpose rooms and cultural house.

The school may open pre-school classes and carry out other educational activities to cater for approximately 40 children of residents and military personnel living on the island.

Vietnam has a long-standing and indisputable sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago- an administrative unit managed by Danang city.

The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry has repeatedly protested against China’s infringement of sovereignty in the island.

VNA/VNN