Vietnam denounces China's military drill, asserts sovereignty over island chains

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietham Lê Thị Thu Hằng during Thursday press briefing in Hanoi — Photo from the ministry

HANOI (Vietnam News/Asia News Network): Vietnam on Thursday (June 23) denounced China’s illegal military exercise in the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) archipelago as a serious violation of its sovereignty over the South China Sea Island chain.

The spokesperson for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng made the remarks during a press briefing in Hanoi, in response to requests for a reaction to the announcement from China’s Hainan Province’s Department for Ocean Affairs about a June 19 drill in the waters off of Phú Lâm (Woody) Island, part of Hoàng Sa, which Vietnam claims as its own.