Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính paid tribute to the martyrs of the Gạc Ma Battle at the memorial site for the fallen soldiers of Johnson South Reef in Khánh Hoà Province on Saturday. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

KHÁNH HOÀ — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and a Government delegation on Saturday paid tribute to the 64 Vietnamese naval soldiers in the deadly Gạc Ma Battle.

It was part of the Government leader’s visit to the south-central province of Khánh Hoà, which coincided with the 34th anniversary of the battle (March 14, 1988 – March 14, 2022).

PM Chính also offered incense in commemoration of the martyrs at their ‘wind tombs’.

The soldiers sacrificed their lives to safeguard the country’s island territory against China’s forces to control the reefs of Gạc Ma (Johnson South), Cô Lin (Collins), and Len Đao (Lansdowne) in Việt Nam’s Trường Sa (Spratly) archipelago in 1988.

Writing on the visitors’ book, PM Chính affirmed that the 64 soldiers’ actions and sacrifices were “heroic and selfless” in defending the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland, and they are shining examples of voluntary heroism, further enriching the heroic tradition of the Vietnamese people.

The Gạc Ma memorial site was built on 25,000sq.m of land in Cam Hải Đông Commune, Cam Lâm District, with donations from Vietnamese workers and labour unions all over the country. It opened in July 2017.

During the visit, PM Chính asked Khánh Hoà Province’s Party Secretary Nguyễn Hải Ninh to expand the memorial site towards the sea and promote the value of the site.

PM Chính visits Submarine Brigade 189 and Brigade 162 of Naval Region 4 in Khánh Hoà Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

Later the same day, the Government leader visited officers and soldiers of Submarine Brigade 189 and Brigade 162 of Naval Region 4, which manages and protects the Spratly Islands, Phú Quý Island, South China Sea and the South Central Coast.

He urged the military personnel to continue to uphold the tradition of the Vietnamese People’s Army, enhance training quality and combat readiness, and always remain in the state of preparedness to defend the country.

PM Chính in visiting Cam Lâm District also learned more about the planning of a Cam Lâm Airport urban area as part of the implementation of the Politburo’s resolution on the development of Khánh Hoà Province towards 2030, with a vision towards 2045.

He demanded that the planning must succeed in turning Cam Lâm from a rural and mountainous area into a modern, green and smart city which is also a tourism, service, educational and healthcare centre.

He requested authorities, sectors, and investors quickly carry out investment procedures, build quality resettlement areas for the displaced residents, preserve local culture, and ensure both material and spiritual life of the people living in the project area in the principle of harmonising interests among the State, people and businesses. — VNS