REUTERS — Vietnam has strongly objected to all foreign activities in the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, following reports earlier in the week about new Chinese construction on one of the small islands in the area.
Reuters had previously reported that new structures had been spotted on Jagged Island, known in Vietnamese as Ba Ba Island, citing satellite imagery, and security analysts said it could be the beginning of a station or facilities for an early-warning radar system.
"Vietnam categorically objects to this and has made serious representations, affirmed the country's position on the matter, and demanded the immediate cessation of such activities and that they not be repeated," said Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson for Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
China has controlled the Paracel Islands since 1974, seizing them from the navy of the former South Vietnam. Vietnam, which claims all of the islands as its own, has in recent years been operating in the Spratly Islands further to the south to expand its network of bases there.
The Spratly Islands and nearby waters are claimed in whole or in part by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei.
Pham Thu Hang said Vietnam has sufficient historical evidence and legal grounds to assert sovereignty over the Paracel Islands under international law.
"Vietnam reaffirms that all foreign activities in the Paracel Islands, including at Ba Ba Island and Hải Sâm Reef, conducted without Vietnam's permission, are illegal and entirely void," the Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesperson said, using the Vietnamese name for Antelope Reef.
China's Ministry of National Defense did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on the matter.
