Viet Nam should organise exhibitions on Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes abroad to gain the international community’s support for the country’s struggle for its sovereignty over these archipelagoes. These are opinions of a number of foreign visitors during the first days of an exhibition themed “Viet Nam’s Hoang Sa – Historical evidence”. The exhibition was organized by central coastal Da Nang city for foreigners from April 29 to May 15.

Superior Buddhist Monk Thich Giac Nghia, who heads Truong Sa pagoda, said on May 2 at Cat Lai port in Ho Chi Minh City that ship No. HQ-571 brought nearly 200 people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, and the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, and others, including more than 100 overseas Vietnamese (OV) living in 33 countries in the world and over 40 monks to visit soldiers and residents in Truong Sa archipelago.

From May 6-8, at the invitation of the host country Brunei, a delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence led by its Minister General Phung Quang Thanh, who is also a Politburo member, attended the 7th ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting (ADMM-7).

We are interested in this information and will closely monitor this matter. All activities by parties concerned in the East Sea should be in line with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and respect sovereignty, sovereignty rights and jurisdiction of countries concerned. Viet Nam affirms its sovereignty over Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago. Without Viet Nam’s consent, all activities by parties concerned in this area constitute a violation of the sovereignty of Viet Nam.

On April 23, a delegation of the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, including Consul General Le Thanh An, counsellors and political officers, paid a working visit to the Hoang Sa District People’s Committee.

The 22nd Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) wrapped up on April 25 in the capital city Bandar Seri Begawan of Brunei.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has asked the People’s Committees of Quang Ninh and Quang Tri provinces, and Hai Phong city to instruct relevant agencies to gather historical and scientific documents to make dossiers for special national relic sites.

With the purposes of building more boundary markers and upgrading existing ones along the Vietnam – Laos border, ensuring the precision, modernity and unity of border markers along the whole border line, under the guidance of the two provinces’ steering committees, the border marker planting joint team of Quang Binh – Savannakhet (Lao PDR) co-organised all the three bilateral surveys, defining 9 out of the targeted 9 marker positions and the specific route for official use from Marker No. 568 to No. 576.