Overseas Vietnamese in Switzerland and the Switzerland-Vietnam Friendship Association held an exhibition and a forum on Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea in Geneva on April 16.

China's illegal activities on Chu Thap (Fiery Cross) reef in Vietnam’s Truong Sa archipelago

The exhibition featured 110 maps, documents and photos which prove Vietnam’s indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos in the East Sea .

On display were extracts from an official historical book collection written under the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945), which showed that Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu (1675-1725) established and exercised sovereignty over Truong Sa since the beginning of the 18th century.

Exhibited maps on the East Sea and Hoang Sa drew by Dutch and Portuguese navigators between the late 16th century and the early 17th century confirmed Vietnam’s natural and long-lasting sovereignty over the archipelago. Besides, ancient maps of China and other countries stated that China’s southernmost tip is Hainan island.

The exhibition also showcased materials on recent illegal actions of China, including invasions of Hoang Sa in 1974 and of Truong Sa’s islands in 1988 and 1994 as well as artificial island building and militarisation in the East Sea since 2014.

A forum on the issue was organised the same day with Pierre Schifferli from the Geveva lawyer delegation and Anjuska Weil, Chairwoman of the Switzerland-Vietnam Friendship Association, as its speakers.

Both of them noted the danger and rapid progression of East Sea disputes.

Anjuska Weil stressed that regional instabilities are likely to become global instabilities, while Pierre Schifferli said the best solution is peaceful measures in line with international law.

The event was rounded off with participants signing a petition sent to UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon. The petition protests China’s militarisation in the East Sea, which seriously violates international law, while demanding China respect international law, stop illegal actions and strictly follow the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).

The Vietnamese people association in Switzerland and the Switzerland-Vietnam Friendship Association plan to stage a demonstration, themed “Peace for Vietnam – Peace for East Sea”, on April 23 in Zurich.

VNA