Professor Carl Thayer from Australia’s University of New South Wales was quoted by Vietnam News Agency as saying that China’s announcement of the establishment of the so-called “Xisha district” (Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago) and “Nansha district" (Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago) under “Sansha city” is “a provocation, illegal under international law.”

The People’s Committee of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands District in Da Nang strongly protested China’s decision to establish the so-called “Xisha District” and “Nansha District” on Vietnam’s Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands, Vietnam News reported.

Philippine Former Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario on Sunday urged the government to protest China’s establishment of two districts on East Sea, GMA Network reported.    

When the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is showing no signs of abating, requiring global joint efforts to combat it, China moved to intensify its unlawful sovereign claims in the East Sea.  

Vietnam strongly protests China’s formation of the so-called “Sansha City" on Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said in a statement Sunday.