On January 8, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Hoang Sa district of the central city of Da Nang Vo Cong Chanh condemned China’s illegal activities in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and in the East Sea.
Chanh requested China to stop all those activities to maintain peace, friendship, and cooperation between the two nations and in the region.
He voiced the objection after China’s Hainan provincial administration earlier announced that it will establish four people’s armed forces departments in the so-called Sansha city, which is in fact in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago and China conducted drills in Phu Lam Island in Hoang Sa."Hoang Sa archipelago belongs to Vietnam, noting that China used force to occupy the archipelago on January 19, 1974. Since then, all activities conducted by China in the archipelago are illegal, violating Vietnam’s sovereignty, and going against international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)." Chanh said.
China’s unilateral acts in Hoang Sa archipelago and the East Sea in recent times are posing serious threats to security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the waters and maritime interests of countries across the globe, he said, noting that such acts are a menace to regional friendship, peace, stability, and development.