Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Phạm Thu Hằng VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – As has been clearly enunciated many times, Việt Nam has full legal basis and ample historical evidence to assert its sovereignty over the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) and Trường Sa (Spratly) islands, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Phạm Thu Hằng said on January 20 in reply to reporters’ query on the country’s position on China's invasion of Hoàng Sa in 1974.

Việt Nam's sovereignty over Hoàng Sa has been established since at least the 17th century in accordance with international law, and exercised in a peaceful, continuous, and public  manner by successive Vietnamese states, Hằng stressed.

Every act of threatening or using force in international relations, especially the use of force to resolve territorial disputes between states, is in complete contravention of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter, and in serious violation of international law. Such act neither establishes any territorial title of sovereignty, nor changes the truth that sovereignty over Hoàng Sa belongs to Việt Nam, the spokesperson affirmed. VNA/VNS