Vietnam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa was established at least since the 17th century, in accordance with international law and has been exercised peacefully, continuously and publicly by successive Vietnamese states.

On January 20, in response to a reporter's question asking for Vietnam's viewpoint on China's seizure of Hoang Sa in 1974, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang stated:

As has been stated many times, Vietnam has sufficient legal basis and historical evidence to affirm Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, in which Vietnam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa was established at least since the 17th century, in accordance with international law and was exercised peacefully, continuously and publicly by successive Vietnamese states.

Any act of using force or threatening to use force in international relations, especially the use of force to resolve disputes over territorial sovereignty in relations between countries, is completely contrary to the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and seriously violates international law. It cannot create a title of sovereignty, nor can it change the fact that sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago belongs to Vietnam.

THANH NAM