中國反駁越南對南海爭議島嶼的主張

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

China rebuts Vietnam's claims to disputed South China Sea islands

Reuters

Wed, January 24, 2024 at 2:00 a.m. PST·2 min read

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday said China's claims to the Paracel and Spratly Islands in the South China Sea were backed by "history" after Vietnam over the weekend repeated it had sufficient evidence to claim sovereignty over the islands.

The Paracel and Spratly Islands, known as the Hoang Sa and Trong Sa islands in Vietnam, are in the South China Sea, a busy global maritime waterway almost all of which is claimed by China. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei are among other claimants.

Vietnam has "full legal basis and ample historical evidence" to assert its sovereignty over the two island chains, its foreign ministry said on Saturday, in response to a query from the media on China's "invasion" of the Paracel Islands in 1974.

"Viet Nam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa Islands has been established since at least the 17th century in accordance with international law, and exercised in a peaceful, continuous and public manner by successive Vietnamese states," it said.

But the Chinese foreign ministry said China's claims are "fully supported by history and jurisprudence."

"China was the first to discover, name, develop and manage these islands and archipelagos, and continue to exercise sovereign jurisdiction over them," said Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, at a regular news conference.

"China always opposes relevant countries' illegal claims on China's territory and will continue to firmly safeguard its sovereignty."

Vietnam's re-assertion of its claims coincides with months of vigorous claims by the Philippines in other parts of the South China Sea after dramatic maritime encounters between Chinese and Philippine vessels near disputed territory.

In December, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Vietnam and sealed an agreement to move towards the building of a community with a "shared future" between the two countries.

(Reporting by Liz Lee; writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Translation

北京（路透社） - 中國外交部週三表示，中國對南海西沙群島和南沙群島的主權主張有「歷史」支持，此前週末, 越南重申有足夠證據證明對這些島嶼擁有主權。

西沙群島和南沙群島，在越南被稱為黃沙群島和長沙群島是位於南海。這是一條繁忙的全球海上航道，中國幾乎對整個海域稱擁有主權。 越南、馬來西亞、菲律賓、台灣和汶萊等是其他聲稱擁有國。

越南外交部週六在回答媒體關於中國1974年「入侵」西沙群島的詢問時表示，越南有「充分的法律依據和充分的歷史證據」來主張其對這兩個島鏈的主權。

聲明中寫道： “越南對黃沙群島的主權至少從 17 世紀起就根據國際法確立，並由歷屆越南國家以和平、持續和公開的方式行使。”

但中國外交部表示，中國的主張「完全有歷史和法理支持」。

中國外交部發言人汪文斌在例行記者會上說： “中國最早發現、命名、開發和管理這些島嶼和群島，並繼續對其行使主權管轄。”

“中方一貫反對有關國家對中國領土的非法主張，將繼續堅定維護國家主權。”

越南重申其主權主張的時間, 吻合在中國和菲律賓船隻在有爭議領土附近發生戲劇性的海上衝突後，菲律賓向南海其他地區提出了長達數月的強烈主權主張。

12月，中國國家主席習近平訪問越南, 並簽署協議去推動兩國建構「命運共同體」。

So, Vietnam's re-asserts its claims over the Paracel and Spratly Islands, despite the fact that in December 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Vietnam and sealed an agreement to move towards the building of a community with a "shared future" between the two countries. Probably Vietnam's re-assertion of its claims over the Paracel and Spratly Islands is a headache for mainland China.