VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has sufficient legal and historical evidence to affirm its sovereignty over the Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelagos.

The statement was given by a representative from the Foreign Ministry’s National Border Committee on July 18 in response to a report by Taiwan’s Liberty Times website, which said that Taiwan is considering extending a runway an additional 500m on Ba Binh island in Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago.

The same day, the Taiwan Central News Agency (CNA) reported that Taiwan sent a delegation of young scholars of Cheng Gong University to visit the island.

“Activities of parties in Truong Sa archipelago without Vietnam’s permission violate the country’s sovereignty and international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, go against the spirit of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and cause tension in the East Sea,” the representative stressed.

The representative also asked Taiwan to stop similar activities and plans.

The Foreign Ministry’s National Border Committee representative also rejected the “wrong statement” made by member of Taiwan Kuomingtang Party Central Committee Kou Yi in an article dated July 11 on the Feng Huang website (Hong Kong) that the waters around Tai Ping island (which is called Ba Binh by Vietnam) belong to Taiwan.

VNN/VOV/VNA