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| A commemoration is held in Khánh Hòa Province to remember 64 officers and soldiers of the Vietnamese Navy who sacrificed themselves to defend Vietnamese territory. VNA/VNS Photo |
KHÁNH HÒA — A commemoration was held on Tuesday in Khánh Hòa on the 35th anniversary of the battle of Gạc Ma to remember the 64 officers and soldiers of the Vietnamese Navy who sacrificed themselves to defend Vietnamese territory.
On the morning of Tuesday, a delegation from the General Staff of the Vietnamese People's Army and the Navy Command of the 4th Military Region offered incense at the Monument of the Gạc Ma Soldiers to commemorate 64 martyrs.
Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Trọng Bình, the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, led the delegation from the General Staff of the Vietnamese People's Army, who organised the event.
Rear Admiral Ngô Văn Thuận, Secretary of the Party Committee and Political Commissar of the region, led the delegation from the Navy Command of the 4th Military Region, which also joined in the commemoration ceremony.
Other officials from the General Staff's functional agencies, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Command, and the leaders and commanders of the units under the Navy Command of the 4th Military Region also attended the event.
The Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, the Party Committee and the Navy Command sent flowers and offered incense to commemorate the 64 heroic martyrs of Gạc Ma.
On Monday, at the Gạc Ma Soldiers' Memorial Site, Cam Lâm District, Khánh Hòa Province, regional, national and military leaders attend a commemoration event dedicated to the events on March 14, 1988.
The ceremony was divided into three parts, the first named the "Eternal Anthem", featuring songs such as Nơi đảo xa (Faraway Islands), Tình ta biển bạc đồng xanh (Our Love for the Silver Sea and Green Fields), and Tổ quốc gọi tên mình (When the Motherland Calls).
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| Scenes at the memorial ceremony on Monday. — Photo nld.com.vn |
Former State President Trương Tấn Sang, former Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình, Secretary of the Khánh Hòa Provincial Party Committee Nguyễn Hải Ninh and officials presented 15,000 national flags from the "Proud of the National Flag" program.
The second part of the ceremony, "Trọn lời thề giữ biển" (Fulfilling the Pledge to Protect the Sea) featured performances such as "Giữ biển" (Protecting the Sea), "Mộ sóng" (Grave of Waves), and "Bà mẹ Gạc Ma" (Gạc Ma Mother).
The program ended with a gift-giving ceremony to express gratitude to four family members of martyrs living in the province.
The final part of the ceremony was "Vòng tròn bất tử" (The Immortal Circle), with artistic performances such as "Trường Sa đó là nhà" (Trường Sa is home), "Bay qua Biển đông" (Flying through the East Sea), "Khánh Hòa ngày mới" (Khánh Hoà new day).
The program "Presenting Gratitude Trees" saw 64 apricot trees and 64 pink trumpet trees planted. — VNS
35 years ago, on March 14, 1988, on Gạc Ma reef (Johnson South), the Vietnamese Navy soldiers stood in a circle to protect the national flag planted on the rocky island, asserting the sovereignty of the country's seas and islands. The heroic sacrifices of these soldiers were immortalised in the statue group "Those who remain at the bottom of the horizon" at the Memorial Site of Gạc Ma Soldiers. This is evidence of the Vietnamese people's heroic spirit and glorious tradition. The Gạc Ma battle in 1988 was to safeguard the country’s island territory over the reefs of Gạc Ma (Johnson South), Cô Lin (Collins), and Len Đao (Lansdowne) in Việt Nam’s Trường Sa (Spratly) archipelago against China’s forces. Việt Nam has full legal grounds and historical evidence to assert sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel islands and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the waters in accordance with international laws and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). |
