Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang

Speaking at an online press conference on Thursday, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said: 'Amid the complicated developments of the pandemic, Vietnam welcomes, highly appreciates, and hopes that other countries and international organizations will uphold the sense of responsibility and strengthen the sharing of information, technology, finance, and medical supplies, particularly COVID-19 vaccines in order to contain the pandemic and resume our normal life as soon as possible. Vietnam has received 4.4 million doses of AstraZaneca vaccine, 2,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine, 5,000 doses of Sinopham vaccine and nearly 100,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine, and will soon receive 2 million doses of Moderna vaccine.'

Hang said Vietnam has contributed to the COVAX facility 500,000 USD.

Also at the press conference, Hang responded to reporters’ queries about the information that a research vessel of Sun Yat-sen University (China) will head to the East Sea, specifically Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago, in October 2021.

'Vietnam has sufficient legal and historical evidence to affirm its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos as well as its legitimate rights to Vietnamese waters as defined in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Any explorations, surveys, and research in the waters without Vietnam’s permission violate Vietnam’s sovereignty and are illegal and invalid.' said Hang.