Vietnam opposes Chinese reef expansion in Truong Sa

All construction and upgrade activities by foreign countries on islands and reefs belonging to Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos without the Vietnam Government’s permission are illegal and invalid, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh at an April 16 regular press briefing in Hanoi.

Responding to questions from reporters about Vietnam's reaction the April 9 speech by Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Hua Chunying about the expansion of underground reefs in Truong Sa, Binh said “Regarding this issue, Vietnam has repeatedly communicated with China including at senior levels. Once again we declare Vietnam has sufficient legal basis and historical evidence validating its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands.”

Binh also stressed that Vietnam resolutely opposes the above actions and asks the concerned parties to fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) as a practical contribution to maintaining peace and stability in the East Sea.

Also at the press briefing, in reply to reporters’ questions about Vietnam’s stance after President Barack Obama has formally asked the Congress to remove Cuba from a US list of state sponsors of terrorism, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Binh said, "Vietnam welcomes the US removal of Cuba from its list of sponsors of terrorism. This is an important step in re-establishing diplomatic relations towards the normalization of relations between the two nations.”

(VOV)