“We strongly object to actions that violate Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago,” the chairman of the Hoang Sa District People's Committee, Dang Cong Ngu, has said.

The Hoang Sa naval monument on Ly Son Island in Quang Ngai Province, installed in July 2009. Hoang Sa District Chairman Dang Cong Ngu has objected to Chinese authorities establishing two hamlet committees on the Hoang Sa archipelago.

He was speaking to the media on November 19 in response to a decision by Chinese authorities of Hainan province to establish two hamlet committees on the archipelago.

Mr. Ngu said that “the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has assigned the authorities of Da Nang City to manage the Hoang Sa archipelago as an administrative unit of the city.”

Vietnam’s maps and historical documents, dating back centuries, indicate that Hoang Sa belongs to Vietnam, said Mr. Ngu. He added that the archipelago’s name was then Bai Cat Vang or Hoang Sa (Golden Sandbanks).

The Cay and Phu Lam Islands belong to the Hoang Sa archipelago which is administered by the People’s Committee of Da Nang City.

The People’s Committee of Hoang Sa District has collected hundreds of historical documents that confirm Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago, Mr. Ngu said.

In particular, the Hoang Sa Yearbook, which will be completed by the end of this year, will serve as a valid historical and juridical document that proves Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago, he said.