Vice spokeswoman for Viet Nam’s Foreign Ministry Pham Thu Hang on Thursday answered reporters’ questions relating to China’s building of an airport on Chu Thap, Stone Cross, and support for Taiwan to deploy armed ships to Ba Binh island in Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago. “We firmly confirm Viet Nam’s indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos. Viet Nam has sufficient legal basis and historical evidence to claim sovereignty over the two archipelagos. All activities by other countries in the area without Viet Nam’s permission are illegal and invalid.”

Vice spokeswoman for Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry Pham Thu Hang

Concerning reporters’ questions about whether Viet Nam and China would have high-level visits to boost ties in the future, Ms. Hang said Viet Nam and China will celebrate the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year. The two countries will definitely exchange visits to strengthen friendly neighborliness and comprehensive cooperation.

Ms. Hang said the Vietnamese Embassy in India and Nepal confirmed on Tuesday that there were no Vietnamese citizens on the list of casualties in the snow storm in Nepal on October 15. She said there has been no information about Vietnamese people registered for mountain climbing. The Vietnamese Embassy in India and Nepal has worked closely with Nepalese agencies to verify related information.

(Source: VOV)