VietNamNet Bridge – Copies of four old maps testifying to Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes in the East Sea were on display at many public places in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on February 2.

Da Thi Island, Truong Sa archipelagoes. (Source: VNA)

The maps included “Dai Nam thong nhat toan do” (the Complete Map of Unified Dai Nam) published under the Minh Mang reign in 1834, on which it was written that Hoang Sa and Van Ly Truong Sa belong to Vietnam’s territory); “An Nam dai quoc hoa do” (the Map of the Great Country of An Nam) drawn by Jean Louis Taberd of France in 1838, which depicts the archipelago of “Paracel seu Cat Vang” - Hoang Sa island as within Vietnam’s waters territory.

There was also the “Hoang trieu truc tinh dia du toan do” (a Chinese administrative map of provincial boundaries) published under the Qing dynasty in 1904, which shows that the southernmost point of China at that time ended at Hainan island only, without mentioning Hoang Sa and Truong Sa of Vietnam. The fourth one was a map of Indochinese weather stations in 1940, which depicted the weather stations in Pattle-Hoang Sa and Itu Aba-Truong Sa as the two most important in Indochina.

The maps were displayed at the provincial Cultural Centre, the Cau Da tourism port, Nha Trang Oceanology Institute, Nha Trang Station and Cam Ranh International Airport, as well as main streets of districts, towns and cities in the province, attracting the attention of many visitors.

Source: Vietnam Plus