Professor Vladimir Kolotov from St Petersburg University (Photo: Facebook)

The move will backfire and threaten stability in East Asia, Professor Vladimir Kolotov from St Petersburg University told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s correspondents in Russia.

The East Sea issue, he said, should be addressed on the basis of international law.

In addition to taking advantage of its roles as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and ASEAN Chair 2020, he suggested Vietnam step up people-to-people diplomacy through friendship associations with other countries.

Several Russian news agencies and newspapers also posted articles regarding the protest by Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang on the establishment of the two districts within the so-called “Sansha city”.

On April 19, Hang said that Vietnam strongly protests the establishment of the so-called “Sansha city” and related acts, as they seriously violate Vietnam’s sovereignty.

“Vietnam has affirmed many times that it has sufficient historical evidence and legal foundation to assert its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos,” Hang said.

She stressed that any moves by China are invalid and unrecognised, harm friendship among nations, and further complicate the situation in the East Sea, the region, and the world.

“Vietnam demands that China respect Vietnam’s sovereignty, abolish its wrongful decisions relating to these recent moves, and not commit any similar acts in the future,” she said. VNA

Vietnam strongly protests establishment of so-called Sansha city

Vietnam strongly protests the establishment of the so-called “Sansha city” and related acts as they seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, the spokesperson of Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang said on April 19.

Da Nang condemns China’s establishment on Paracel and Spratly archipelagos

The people’s committee of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands district in Danang strongly protested China’s decision to establish the so-called Xisha and Nansha districts to govern over Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) islands.