Vietnam asks China to stop sending bombers to Hoang Sa
Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that China's practice of landing bombers in the Hoang Sa archipelago is a move that destabilizes the region.
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| Chinese bombers make a lightning landing in Hoang Sa. |
On May 18, the Chinese military website posted images showing an H-6K bomber practicing landing and takeoff on the runway on Phu Lam Island in Vietnam's Hoang Sa archipelago.
Responding to China's move, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said that Vietnam has sufficient legal grounds and historical evidence to affirm its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos in accordance with international law.
"China's decision to conduct bomber take-off and landing drills on Vietnam's Hoang Sa archipelago has seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty over the archipelago, gone against the Agreement on Basic Principles Guiding the Resolution of Maritime Issues between Vietnam and China, violated the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea between ASEAN and China (DOC), and negatively affected the negotiation process between ASEAN and China to build a Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC)," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasized. This action "increases tensions, causes instability in the region and is not beneficial to maintaining a peaceful, stable and cooperative environment in the East Sea."
Vietnam also demands that China immediately stop the above-mentioned actions, not conduct militarization, respect Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago, strictly comply with the Agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of maritime issues between Vietnam and China, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea between ASEAN and China (DOC), and create a favorable atmosphere to maintain a peaceful and stable environment in the region.
China used force to occupy Vietnam's Hoang Sa archipelago in 1974, then established the so-called "Sansha city", headquartered on Phu Lam island since July 2012, to take over the archipelagos in the East Sea, including Truong Sa and Hoang Sa. In recent years, China has illegally reclaimed 7 reefs in the Truong Sa archipelago into artificial islands and built runways, capable of receiving heavy military aircraft.
