(MOFA) - On January 20, 2024, in response to reporters’ query on Viet Nam's position concerning China's invasion of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in 1974, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam Pham Thu Hang made the following statement:

"As has been clearly enunciated many times, Viet Nam has full legal basis and ample historical evidence to assert its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands. Viet Nam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa Islands 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.

Every act of threating 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 an act neither establishes any territorial title of sovereignty, nor changes the truth that sovereignty over the Hoang Sa Islands belongs to Viet Nam./."