Viet Nam's permanent mission to the United Nations has sent an official note to UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon to confirm its undeniable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos on the East Sea.
The move was in response to two earlier notes sent to the UN head by the Philippines and China, which referred to their sovereignty over the Truong Sa islands.
"The Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos are incontrovertible parts of Viet Nam's territory. Viet Nam has sufficient evidence in terms of both history and legality to affirm its sovereignty over the two archipelagos," the Vietnamese mission's note dated May 3 said.
The note sent by the Philippines permanent mission on April 4 protested against China's "9-dash line" territorial claim over the whole of the East Sea.
It's also called the "9-dotted line" because it shows a series of nine dashes or dotted lines on a map. The lines form a ring around the East Sea area which China claims is part of its territory.
China's mission later responded to the Philippines diplomatic protest by an official note to the UN General Secretary, dated April 14. — VNS
