Vietnam protests China's lighthouse construction in Truong Sa

Hanoi today handed over a diplomatic note protesting Beijing's operation of a lighthouse station on Subi Reef in the Truong Sa archipelago, a serious violation of Vietnam's sovereignty.

China's illegally built lighthouse on Subi Reef in Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago. Photo: Xinhua

On April 5, China inaugurated a 55-meter-high structure on Subi Reef with technology to track ships passing through, according to Xinhua.Images of the inauguration ceremony showMen in white shirts stand next to the lighthouse, near a banner that reads "Lighting Ceremony."China also built an Automatic Identification System (AIS) and a Very High Frequency (VHF) radar station on Subi Reef.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh todayaffirms that Vietnam has full legal basis and historical evidence of indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos. The above actions of China have seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty over the Truong Sa archipelago, are illegal and worthless.

"We demand that China immediately stop all activities that violate Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, strictly comply with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC)."OC), there must be no further actions that complicate the situation in the East Sea," Mr. Binh stated.

This afternoon, a representative of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with a representative of the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi to hand over a diplomatic note of protest on the above issue.

Satellite images show that China turned Vietnam’s Subi Reef into an artificial island of nearly 400 hectares last year. China’s illegal island-building has been strongly condemned by the international community. Beijing argues that the construction is to support search and rescue operations at sea.

At the end of October 2015, China put into use two other large lanterns on the illegally built artificial islands on Chau Vien and Gac Ma reefs, also in Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago.In addition to lighthouses, China has also built runways up to 3,000 meters long on these illegal artificial islands, along with high-frequency radar stations and many other infrastructure projects.

According to VNE