China illegally sends 10,000-ton cruise ship to Hoang Sa

On March 13, China put a new 10,000-ton ship into operation on an illegal tourist route to Vietnam's Hoang Sa archipelago.

The cruise ship "Gulf of Tonkin Star" that China illegally brought to Vietnam's Hoang Sa archipelago. Photo: hinews.cn

The ship named "Gulf of Tonkin Star" departed from Sanya to illegally take tourists to the Paracel Islands under Vietnam's sovereignty, according to Sohu.com.

The person in charge of the Sanya Maritime Bureau said that the above ship will later replace the "Gia Huong Princess" ship to conduct illegal tourism routes to Hoang Sa with a frequency of about 4-5 times/month. The "Bac Bo Gulf Star" ship will travel on the route from Sanya to Oc Hoa Island in the Crescent Island Group, Hoang Sa archipelago.

Compared to the "Gia Huong Princess" ship, the "Bac Bo Gulf Star" ship has more complete equipment and can carry more tourists, about 300 people. The ship has a displacement of nearly 10,000 tons.

China conducted its first illegal tour to the Paracel Islands in April 2013. Beijing has since organized about five similar trips every month.

US and Taiwanese officials confirmed last month that China had deployed surface-to-air missiles to Woody Island, part of Vietnam's Paracel Islands, in pursuit of its strategy of militarizing the South China Sea.

Vietnam has sent a diplomatic note to the Chinese Embassy to protest China's deployment of missiles to Phu Lam Island, saying this is a serious violation of Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago, threatening peace and stability in the region as well as security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea.

According to VNE