Facebook has announced that it had fixed a map that included the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagoes as Chinese territory following complaints from Vietnam.
Vietnamese Facebook users had expressed oppositions over what they called a "serious error" when discovering that the Paracel and Spratly islands were marked as Chinese on Facebook’s Boost Page feature.
Many advertisers said that they would stop advertising on Facebook unless the company fixed and updated their Map app.
The Ministry of Information and Communications on Sunday also lodged a complaint asking Facebook to explain their decision.
Deputy head of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information under the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, Le Quang Tu Do, said that they had a reply from the social media site who explained that they had been made aware of the issue.
Do cited Facebook's answer as saying that the problem had been caused by the use of a wrong map for geographical reference.
"Facebook also said it was looking into the issue and promised a resolution," Do added.
As of Monday afternoon, on the Facebook map, the two island groups were no longer marked as Chinese.
“It can be said that this was a success for Vietnam in fighting for its national sovereignty,” Do said.
Vietnam has consistently stressed it has sufficient legal ground and historical evidence affirming its sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes, as well as legitimate rights over its waters in line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Vietnam was Facebook's seventh largest market with 64 million users as of July 2017, accounting for 3% of the total Facebook users worldwide.
In 2015, Google removed the Sansha reference on Google Maps following opposition from Vietnam.