Dissemination of information about sea, islands reviewed

Over the past five years, the Ministry of Information and Communications have worked closely with ministries, agencies and localities to organise exhibitions of maps and documents themed “Vietnam’s Hoang Sa and Truong Sa – Historical and Legal Evidence” in cities and provinces nationwide and photo exhibitions entitled “Vietnam, country and people – Looking from the sea and islands” abroad. 

In the central province of Ha Tinh, 17 royal records regarding Vietnam’s establishment and exercise of sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) were displayed for the first time. 

In Hanoi, a number of sovereignty maps collected and brought home from the US by engineer Tran Thang were also showcased. Exhibitions in Ho Chi Minh City and the northern midland province of Thai Nguyen also attracted large numbers of visitors. 

Other exhibitions were held in Truong Sa Lon, Nam Yet, Sinh Ton and Song Tu Tay islands in the island district of Truong Sa in the central province of Khanh Hoa, Ly Son island district in the central province of Quang Ngai, Co To island district in the northern province of Quang Ninh, Phu Quoc island district in the southern province of Kien Giang and Phu Quy island district in the central province of Binh Thuan. 

Many valuable documents on display were sourced from the National Boundary Commission, the Institute of Han-Nom Studies and Dr Tran Duc Anh Son from the Da Nang Institute for Socio-Economic Development who collected them during trips to the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and France. 

In the time to come, similar exhibitions will continue to be organised both at home and abroad, alongside with film screening weeks  as well as knowledge, photo and painting competitions on the country’s sea and islands.