Việt Nam has sufficient grounds to assert sovereignty over Hoàng Sa

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Phạm Thu Hằng VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam has full legal basis and historical evidence to affirm its sovereignty over Hoàng Sa (Paracel) and Trường Sa (Spratly), Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Phạm Thu Hằng said on January 20 in reply to reporters’ query on the country’s stance on China’s occupation of Hoàng Sa in 1974.

Việt Nam’s sovereignty over Hoàng Sa has been established since at least the 17th century, in accordance with international law, and has been peacefully, continuously, and openly practiced by successive Vietnamese states, Hằng stressed.

Any act of using force or threatening to use force in international relations, especially the use of force to solve disputes over territorial sovereignty in relations between countries, is completely contrary to the basic principles of the United Nations Charter, seriously violates international law, and can neither establish a title of sovereignty, nor change the fact that the sovereignty over Hoàng Sa belongs to Việt Nam, the spokesperson affirmed. VNA/VNS