Exhibition on Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos opens in Bac Ninh

(Bqp.vn) - Thousands of State officers and local residents in the northern province of Bac Ninh gathered for the opening ceremony of an exhibition showcasing historical and legal evidences of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos held at the Kinh Bac Cultural Centre on August 1.

Opening ceremony for the exhibition in the Kinh Bac Cutural Centre.

Numerous documents, artefacts and 100 maps, which have been collected from around the world, are on display. These exhibits show that the State of Vietnam discovered, claimed and practiced sovereignty over the two archipelagos and many other waters through history. The sovereignty practice has been conducted peacefully and recorded in many historical documents from both Vietnam and other countries, especially documents and maps composed, drawn and published since the 16th century.

Some notable documents are written in Han (Chinese script), Nom (Vietnamese ideographic script), Vietnamese and French composed and published by Vietnamese feudal dynasties and the French Government in Indochina, on behalf of the State of Vietnam, from the 17th to 20th century. There documents affirm the process of claiming, practicing and protecting Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos.

The exhibited records of Nguyen dynasty, known as “Chau ban trieu Nguyen” in Vietnamese, which have recently been listed in the Asia – Pacific Register of UNESCO's Memory of the World Program, also prove Vietnam’s extraction of fisheries, management and sovereignty claim over the archipelagos.

In addition, the Atlas Universal by a Belgian geographer, Philippe Vandermaelen, and four other atlases by China’s Qing Dynasty and the Government of the Republic of China prove clearly that the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos do not belong to China despite their recent claim of sovereignty.

The exhibition also showcases several recent artefacts of the fighting over the sovereignty of the archipelagos including Vietnamese vessel models of maritime police, fisheries surveillance and naval forces, the DK platform and facilities of the navy at sea and on islands.

The exhibition will open till August 15.

(Source: Nhan Dan)