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Viet Nam Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung. |
The Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos were under Vietnamese sovereignty, said Viet Nam Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung yesterday - a declaration made in response to news of marker posts being errected by China.
He said Vietnam had sufficient historical and legal evidence to support its claim.
In statements issued by the Foreign Ministry in 1992 and 1996, the Government asserted it would not recognise the legal value of any document on the territorial waters, adjacent regions, basic demarcation lines or activities conducted by any country on the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.
Dung said that China's erection of marker posts on Hoang Sa was an encroachment upon Vietnam's sovereignty.
"Such marker posts are invalid," said Dung.
He reiterated Vietnam's willingness to solve disputes with concerned countries through peaceful dialogue in accordance with international laws and practices, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the conduct of Parties in the South China (East) Sea.
"Vietnam wants to strengthen co-operation, friendship, and maintain peace and stability in the EastSea," said Dung.
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