Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang

At a press conference on Thursday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang expressed Vietnam’s condemnation of Taiwan’s live-fire drills on November 24 in the sea areas surrounding Ba Binh (Itu Aba) Island, part of Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago:

“As previously asserted, Chinese Taiwan’s live fire drills in the territory have severely violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Spratly archipelago, threatening peace, stability, and maritime safety and security, and further complicating the situation in the East Sea. Vietnam resolutely opposes Taiwan’s moves and requests it refrain from similar actions in the future,” said Hang.  

The spokeswoman also voiced Vietnam’s opposition to Chinese Hainan province’s declaration of resumption of tours in Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes, saying that it violates Vietnam’s sovereignty.

Regarding recent developments in the COVID-19 pandemic, she said Vietnam keeps caring for the repatriation of stranded Vietnamese back home and not leaving anyone behind, while boosting efforts for early public access to vaccine sources.