Vietnam hopes that the Hong Kong government will take appropriate measures to stabilize the situation soon and protect the legitimate rights and property of Vietnamese citizens and businesses in Hong Kong.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh was speaking at a Foreign Ministry press briefing in Hanoi on October 2 regarding Vietnam’s response to recent protests in Hong Kong.

In reply to a question about how many Vietnamese living and working in Hong Kong and the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA)’s recommendations for Vietnamese citizens Binh said as soon as getting information about demonstrations in Hong Kong, the MoFA has given appropriate directions aimed at protecting Vietnamese nationals in Hong Kong.

"To ensure safety, the MoFA warns Vietnamese citizens not go to demonstration areas to avoid complex situations," Binh emphasized.

So far, protesters have requested Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to step down.

Regarding China’s plan to deploy a fish processing vessel to Vanh Khan (Mischief Reef), part of Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, Binh said the Vietnamese Government was aware of the plan and was following the situation carefully.

“ Vietnam has a legal basis and historical evidence proving its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa archipelagos. All actions undertaken by other parties without the permission of Vietnam are illegal and invalid,” the official said.

Responding to questions whether the Government of Vietnam knew of China’s construction of a new island in Da Ga Ven and Da Lac (Gaven Reefs) in Truong Sa’s Nam Yet (Tizard Reef) on Vietnamese territory, Binh said Vietnamese agencies were verifying the information.

He once again declared Vietnam’s indisputable sovereignty over the two archipelagos Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, affirming that all moves by external parties in those areas would violate the law and be considered invalid.

Concerning the bodies of Vietnamese citizens on board Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight that crashed in Ukraine in July, Binh said the Vietnam Embassy in the Netherlands reported that the Dutch side identified the victims.

The two identified victims are Nguyen Ngoc Minh and Dang Minh Chau, whose relatives have been informed and are working with Dutch and Malaysian officials to finalise the funeral arrangements, he said.

Vietnam asked the Netherlands to speed up its efforts to identify the remains of Dang Quoc Duy, the third Vietnamese victim onboard flight MH17.

VOV/VNN