Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Pham Thu Hang affirmed on January 20 in response to a reporter's query regarding Vietnam's viewpoint concerning China's invasion of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in 1974.

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Spokesperson of Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang

She stressed that Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands has been established since at least the 17th century in accordance with international law, and exercised in a peaceful, continuous, and public manner by successive Vietnamese states.

Every act of threatening or using force in international relations, especially the use of force to resolve territorial disputes between states, is in complete contravention of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter, and in serious violation of international law. Such an act neither establishes any territorial title of sovereignty nor changes the truth that sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands belongs to Vietnam.

Translated by Song Anh