VietNamNet Bridge – At exactly 5pm on January 6, four ships transporting the necessities for Tet (Lunar New Year festival) preparations arrived to greet residents and soldiers at Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands, about 248 sea miles from Cam Ranh City in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

Arrival: Naval soldiers set out to take over new missions on Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands. — VNA/VNS Photos Quang Quyet On the way: Naval soldiers board the ship which will take them to the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands to take on new missions before Tet.

According to Colonel Nguyen Cong Son, deputy commissar of the High Command in Naval Area 4, it has become a routine for the High Command to organise voyages to the islands to replace and withdraw troops as well as to send New Year wishes to the islanders.

Festive time: Before Tet (Lunar) New Year, hundreds tonnes of goods, necessities, fruits and vegetables have been transported to residents and soldiers on the Spratly Islands.

Hundreds of tonnes of goods, necessities, fruits and vegetables, gifts from Khanh Hoa Province’s People’s Committee and from other provinces nationwide, have also been transported to each household to make the New Year Festival on the islands as prosperous as that on the mainland.

Particularly, the happiness of the residents and soldiers on the Spratly Islands seemed to be doubled when they received VND100 million (US$4,400) in financial support directly from President Tran Dai Quang and VND700 million ($30,822) from the Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund. 

Soldier santa: Soldiers of brigate 146 carry gifts and necessities aboard. Goodbye: Naval soldiers wave farewell to their family and relatives before setting out to take on new missions on Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands.

Source: VNS