Local people show interest in the exhibition of documents, maps and research on Viet Nam's sovereignty of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes at the Da Nang Museum.— VNA/VNS Photo Tran Le Lam

Deputy director of Da Nang Institute for Socio-economic Development Tran Duc Anh Son explains the importance of ancient map collections, which indicate Viet Nam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes. —VNS Photo Cong Thanh

DA NANG (VNS)– The central city of Da Nang has just put on public display a collection of documents, maps and research results on Viet Nam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

It's the first time that such a detailed and full collection of exhibits has been shown at the Da Nang Museum. It includes a collection of 95 maps published between 1626 and 1980, 10 of which indicate that the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos belong to Viet Nam, and 102 books published in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and the Dutch, and Han Chinese script.

The display also debuted 30 out of 150 old maps, which were donated by the president of the Institute for Vietnamese Culture and Education, Tran Thang, a Vietnamese-American.

The main focus of the exhibition is two Postal Atlas Map of China books which were published by the Directorate General of Post, Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of China, in 1919 (consisting of 49 maps) and in 1933 (29 maps) and one Atlas of the Chinese Empire, published by the China Inland Mission in 1909 (23 maps). None of the three books list the Paracels and Spratlys in the maps and index pages.

Many maps in the exhibition also indicate that the frontier of Southern China is Hainan island and the Paracels belong to Viet Nam.

"We are presenting to the public, for the first time, ancient documents on the Vietnamese sovereignty of the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos," the chairman of the city's Hoang Sa District People's Committee, Dang Cong Ngu, said at the opening ceremony of the exhibition yesterday. "The display is significant evidence that the two archipelagos belong to Viet Nam."

Ngu told the Viet Nam News later: "The committee plans to include the study of maps, books and atlases on the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos in the city's High School curriculum."

Deputy director of Da Nang Institute for Socio-economic Development Tran Duc Anh Son said the institute had completed a two-year social science study on "Viet Nam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa Islands".

"It's the right time to make the study public. We have collected and studied ancient documents and maps written in French, Han Chinese script on Viet Nam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos," he said.

"We also received a precious collection of ancient maps from domestic and overseas Vietnamese donors."

Son said the institute had received 150 maps, including 110 originals and 40 copies, from Tran Thang. These maps were published in the UK, Germany, Australia, Canada, the US and Hong Kong (China) between 1626-1980.

Among them, 80 maps depict Hainan Island as the southernmost territory of China, 50 show Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belong to Viet Nam and 10 maritime maps as well as 10 maps featuring Asia and Southeast Asia indicate that Hoang Sa and Truong Sa lie in the territorial sea of Viet Nam.

Ly Son Island, 30km offshore from Quang Ngai Province, still preserves Am Linh Pagoda, which was a worshipping place for seamen who had been dispatched to the Paracel Islands during the Nguyen dynasty, from the 17th century.

Meanwhile, a museum of the two archipelagos displays over 200 ancient documents and 100 objects which prove that the Paracel and Spratly islands belong to Viet Nam.

Ngu said the district plans to display the collection during Sea and Islands Week in Khanh Hoa Province in April. – VNS