MOSCOW — Việt Nam had convincing evidence of its sovereignty over the East Sea, Russian expert Grigory Trofimchuk, Chairman of the Expert Council of the Eurasian Foundation for Support of Scientific Research, has said.

Trofimchuk made the statement in an article published in Realtribune on Friday following his Việt Nam trip during which he visited the Hoàng Sa Exhibition House in the central city of Đà Nẵng. 
The expert expressed his strong impressions of the historical objects on display featuring Việt Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) Archipelago in the East Sea, saying the exhibition was key to security in Southeast Asia and the world at large. 
The exhibits clearly prove Việt Nam’s sovereignty over Hoàng Sa for centuries, he said. 
Trofimchuk suggested sharing this proof among foreigners, especially researchers on the East Sea in Russia, and expressed his hopes of organising a conference on the subject.
Regarding the current tensions in the East Sea, the expert condemned China’s ambition to monopolise the waters. 
Việt Nam and other regional countries should give prominence to the implementation of the ruling on the East Sea issued by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016, while optimising multilateral mechanisms and international forums like ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in this regard. — VNS