Over 250 maps seized for wrongfully naming Vietnamese waters ‘China Sea’
A tourist spot in central Vietnam has had over 250 of its self-printed maps confiscated by local authorities after the maps were found erroneously calling the East Vietnam Sea “China Sea.”
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The sea, covering an area of around 3,500,000 square kilometers east of Vietnam, has been unlawfully claimed by China despite large areas of it belonging to Vietnam pursuant to international law.
The maps in question were printed by French-owned Villa Louise Beach & Spa Resort in Phu Vang District, Thua Thien-Hue.
Earlier, tourists staying at the resort reported having been handed maps in which the East Vietnam Sea belonging to Vietnam were labeled “China Sea.”
Local police were then informed of it and shortly carried out an inspection at the resort before seizing the maps for further investigation.
According to initial police reports, about 500 similar maps have been printed and handed over to tourists at the resort, of which over 250 have been recovered by the resort operator and submitted to police officers.
A representative of the resort said the person in charge of watching over the printing of these maps was a former assistant to its director, who had recently quit.
The representative blamed Google Maps and TripAdvisor for the mistake, saying those two services use the phrase “China Sea” to refer to a beach next to the resort.
He added the resort operator got information from these services to use for printing the maps.
