Vietnam objects to China illegally sending reconnaissance ships and aircraft to Truong Sa
VOV.VN - Le Thi Thu Hang, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, has stressed the nation’s demand for concerned parties to not take any actions which may further complicate the situation in the East Sea, urging them to contribute to the maintenance of peace and stability in the region.
This statement was made at the ministry’s virtual regular press briefing held on June 24 in reply to questions by reporters regarding Chinese reconnaissance vessels and aircraft recently being spotted in the vicinity of Chu Thap (Fiery Cross) Reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago.
She once again affirmed that the country has sufficient historical evidence and legal basis to testify to its sovereignty over the Truong Sa archipelago in line with international law.
Any act with violates Vietnamese sovereignty and other related rights in the archipelago must be viewed as illegal and void, Hang said.
In terms of the current regional and international context, the country has asked relevant parties not to take any action which may further complicate the situation in the East Sea. Instead they should make practical and active contributions to the maintenance of peace and stability in the waters, while simultaneously creating a favourable environment for the negotiation on a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), she emphasized.
With regard to China’s recent launch of a project aimed at tagging floral species in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, the official said the nation has repeatedly affirmed that it has sufficient historical evidence and legal basis to prove to its sovereignty over both archipelagoes in line with international law.
Any action which infringes on Vietnamese sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, as well as the country’s sovereign right and jurisdiction over its sea areas, should be considered as unrecognised, with the nation resolutely opposing any action, Hang added.
Previously, according to the USNI’s reports, satellite images taken on June 9 by Maxar showed that a Chinese Type 815G-class surveillance ship was illegally operating near an artificial island that China had illegally built on Fiery Cross Reef belonging to the Truong Sa archipelago. In the satellite images, a Y-8Q reconnaissance plane and a KJ-500 early warning aircraft can also be seen parked at the runway on the artificial island.