Thailand displayed a map of Vietnam without Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in the opening ceremony of SEA Games 33?

The host country of the 33rd SEA Games, Thailand, continued to make confusing mistakes at the opening ceremony on the evening of December 9. Specifically, the map of Vietnam shown on television during the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games did not include the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.

Vietnam sports delegation parades at the opening ceremony of SEA Games 33 - Photo: NAM TRAN

The opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games, which took place on the evening of December 9, began with a special art performance combined with the introduction of Southeast Asian countries. The countries participating in the SEA Games appeared one by one with the symbol of the map and the greeting of that country.

Vietnam appears near the end of the introduction with the Vietnamese phrase "Hello". But it is worth noting that the part displaying the map of Vietnam is missing the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa, Truong Sa, and Phu Quoc island, which belong to Vietnam's sovereignty .

Watching on television, many Vietnamese fans were surprised and upset by the carelessness of the SEA Games 33 organizing committee. A wave of fierce debate broke out on social media right after the opening ceremony of the SEA Games 33 ended.

In addition, in the section looking back at the history of the SEA Games broadcast on the big screen at the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games on the evening of December 9, when introducing the 1997 SEA Games held in Indonesia, the organizing committee of the host country Thailand used the flag... Singapore.

This is not the first time Thailand has made strange mistakes at the SEA Games or other recent sporting events.

In October, Thailand mistakenly used the Chinese flag in the draw named after Vietnam, at the draw ceremony for the 2025 Southeast Asian U19 Futsal Championship.

This mistake created a storm of public opinion, forcing the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) to send a delegation to Vietnam to apologize.

Earlier this month, Thailand made a similar mistake in the women's futsal schedule at the 33rd SEA Games.

Specifically, the 33rd SEA Games organizing committee used the wrong national flags for both teams, Indonesia and Thailand. In the information section of the Indonesian team, they used the flag of Laos. In the box of their own team, Thailand used the flag of... Vietnam.

The map of Vietnam at the opening ceremony of the 33rd SEA Games lacks the two archipelagos of Truong Sa, Hoang Sa, and Phu Quoc Island - Screenshot

Regarding the incident, the leader of the Vietnamese sports delegation at the 33rd SEA Games said that he was aware of the matter and contacted the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand to coordinate with the host country, Thailand, to handle the matter.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thai-lan-dua-ban-do-viet-nam-thieu-hoang-sa-truong-sa-trong-le-khai-mac-sea-games-33-20251209221056522.htm