More maps back claim over island sovereignty
The central city of Danang has received a collection of 90 maps published between 1826 and 1980, 10 of which indicate the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes belong to Vietnam.
“We have invited historians, archaeologists, lawyers and researchers to evaluate the collection before making it public,” said Dang Cong Ngu, the chairman of the city’s Hoang Sa District People’s Committee. “The collection has been preserved with strict precautions and is significant evidence that the two archipelagoes belong to Vietnam”.
The donor, Institute for Vietnamese Culture and Education (IVCE) director Tran Thang, said that he had travelled to the US, Britain and Poland between July and October to collect the old maps, using his own funds and some from his friends.
“I’m still searching for more maps to donate a more perfect collection to Danang in the future,” he said.
He bought two books of Postal Atlas Maps of China which were published by the Directorate of Transportation of the Republic of China in 1919 (consisting of 49 maps) and in 1933 (29 maps), as well as one Atlas of the Chinese Empire, published by the China Inland Mission in 1090 (23 maps). None of the three books list Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in the maps or index pages.
Hoang Sa District plans to display the collection during Sea and Inlands Week in Khanh Hoa Province next April.