China used force nearly 40 years ago to occupy the disputed Paracel islands in the South China Sea,
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) – China used force nearly 40 years ago to occupy the disputed Paracel islands in the South China Sea, Vietnam’s prime minister publicly acknowledged for the first time Friday.
In televised testimony to the lawmaking National Assembly, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said China sent troops in 1956 to occupy parts of the Paracel islands. In 1974, one year before the end of the Vietnam War, when the islands were jointly controlled by China and South Vietnam, “China used force to occupy all of the Hoang Sa islands,” he said.
Hoang Sa is the Vietnamese name for the Paracels.
The Chinese action that drove Vietnamese off the islands was met with protests from both the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese government and opposing revolutionary communist officials, Dung said. Today, Vietnam and China both claim complete sovereignty over the islands, and the issue created high tensions between the neighbors earlier this year.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In addition to the Paracels, Vietnam and China – along with the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei – also claim all or parts of the Spratly islands in the South China Sea. The Spratlys are believed to be rich in natural resources in an area that’s home to vital shipping lanes.
“Vietnam has all legal and historical grounds to confirm its sovereignty” over the two island chains, Dung said, repeating the communist country’s position. But it marked the first time a top Vietnamese official acknowledged that China currently occupies the Paracels as a result of the use of force.
Dung said Vietnam’s consistent policy is to resolve the issue through peaceful means based on international law.
Relations between Vietnam and China hit a low point this summer after Hanoi accused Beijing of interfering with its oil exploration activities.
China’s actions sparked unprecedented weekly demonstrations in the Vietnamese capital for about two months before authorities shut them down, briefly detaining dozens of protesters.
Vietnam does not tolerate any threat to its one-party rule, and protests are typically quashed quickly by police.
Earlier this month, Dung proposed to the National Assembly that the legislature pass a law on demonstrations. He said Friday that while the right to protest is enshrined in the constitution, it cannot be used to go against the interests of the country.
“This law will ensure the rights to freedom and democracy of the people, and at the same time, this law will also ask for the prevention of acts that harm security and order and the interests of the society and people,” he said.