Any activities in Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago without the country’s permission are meaningless, spokeswoman of the Foreign Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang said on August 27.

Spokeswoman of the Foreign Ministry Le Thi Thu (Photo: VNA) 

She made the statement in response to a question from the Vietnam News Agency regarding the Philippines’ recent naming of four sandbanks and two coral reefs near Thi Tu Island in Truong Sa archipelago.

She repeated Vietnam’s consistent view that all activities by parties in the East Sea must comply with international law and respect countries’ sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, as specified in line with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as well as the content and spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, to help maintain peace, security, and stability in the waters.