The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commented on Thailand displaying a map of Vietnam that omits the Paracel and Spratly Islands.

"Vietnam affirms its indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos in accordance with international law," the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.

This afternoon, at the regular press conference, a reporter pointed out that at the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games, held on the evening of December 9th, the organizing committee of host country Thailand used special effects to simulate a map of the countries in the region.

However, the map of Vietnam displayed on the screen omitted the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, as well as Phu Quoc Island. The press requested that the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs comment on this information.

According to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang, Vietnamese authorities have been working with the Thai organizing committee of the 33rd SEA Games regarding the error in the depiction of the Vietnamese map at the opening ceremony of the recent SEA Games 33.

"Once again, Vietnam affirms its indisputable sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos in accordance with international law," the spokesperson stated.

The Vietnamese sports delegation at the opening ceremony. Photo: SN

The opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games began with a spectacular artistic performance combined with an introduction of the Southeast Asian nations. The participating countries were successively presented, each represented by a map and a greeting from their respective nation.

Vietnam appears near the end of the introduction with the Vietnamese phrase "Xin chào" (Hello). However, the map of Vietnam displayed omits the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, as well as Phu Quoc Island, which are under Vietnamese sovereignty.

Right at the opening ceremony, the leaders of the Vietnamese sports delegation contacted the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand to coordinate the handling of this matter.

Over the past period, the organizing committee of the host country for the SEA Games has repeatedly made mistakes. At the opening ceremony, in addition to errors related to the map of Vietnam, the organizing committee also mistakenly used the Singapore flag for the 1997 SEA Games - an event held in Indonesia.

Previously, the host country's organizing committee had also posted the women's futsal schedule but mistakenly used the Thai flag for the Vietnamese flag and the Indonesian flag for the Laotian flag.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/bo-ngoai-giao-noi-ve-viec-thai-lan-chieu-ban-do-vn-thieu-hoang-sa-truong-sa-2471612.html