On Thursday, the Ministry of Information and Communications donated a collection of maps and documents called 'The Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelagos - the Legal Historical Evidence' to the Zone 3 Naval High Command.

The maps and documents have legal value for re-affirming that the 2 archipelagos are integral parts of Viet Nam’s territory.  There are 60 maps which have been published in Viet Nam, China and Western countries since the 16th century.  There are also 20 imperial records issued by the Nguyen Dynasty, 6 official documents in Han-Nom characters (Chinese characters and Chinese-transcribed Vietnamese), and 14 administrative documents released during the French colonial period.  In addition, there are many pictures showing the daily lives of Vietnamese people on the 2 archipelagos over the historical periods.

The Deputy Minister for Information and Communications, Mr Truong Minh Tuan, said he hoped that the donated maps and documents would be used effectively to publicise Viet Nam’s legitimate claims over its sea and islands for the sake of the protection of the national territorial sovereignty.