HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Information and Communications will publish a collection of stamps on seas and islands every two years starting this year.

The aim is to raise people’s awareness of the important role of the country’s sea area.

The collection, named Việt Nam’s Sea & Islands Part 1: Sea Creatures, will be published later this year, while Việt Nam’s Sea & Islands Part 2: Ships of Coast Guard, will hit bookshelves in 2020. Việt Nam’s Sea & Islands Part 3: Local Sea Creatures will be published in 2022.

A series of postcards with images of Trường Sa Archipelago will be published later this year.

According to the Vietnam Post, the first collection will be issued on June 23 at the Navy Academy in the central city of Nha Trang in Khánh Hòa province.

The collection will include four stamps and a stamp block with images of sea creatures in the Trường Sa (Spratly) Archipelago.

Image of a sea light on an island offshore will appear on postcards to be released soon.

Together with the stamp collection, Vietnam Post will introduce other products, including traditional stamps with messages, such as “Vietnam Post joins hands to protect national sovereignty on the sea”, and postcards accompanying stamps to send to navy soldiers and residents in the Trường Sa Archipelago.

Vietnam Post will also publish stamps with personal portraits for people interested and other stamp products to meet the demands of stamp collectors both within and outside the country.

Vietnam Post will host an auction of the original oil-on-canvas paintings of the Việt Nam’s Sea & Islands Part 1: Sea Creatures collection. The proceeds will be sent to military officers, soldiers and residents in the Trường Sa Archipelago. — VNS