Vietnam opposes Taiwan's illegal military drills in Spratlys

"The conduct of live-fire drills in the waters around Itu Aba, part of Vietnam’s Spratly Archipelago is a serious violation of Vietnam's territorial sovereignty over these islands, threatening peace, stability, maritime safety and security, as well as increasing tension and complicating the situation in the East Sea," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang said on Monday.

The East Sea is known internationally as the South China Sea.

"Vietnam resolutely opposes this act and asks Taiwan not to repeat similar violations," she added.

Itu Aba, or Ba Binh in Vietnamese, is the largest natural island in Vietnam’s Spratly Archipelago. Taiwan has illegally occupied the island with the deployment of military forces at the location.

In 2000, Taiwan replaced its garrison on Itu Aba with a unit equipped with machine guns, long-range mortars and other weapons. This unit regularly conducts illegal live-fire drills around Itu Aba.

Vietnam has sufficient legal grounds and historical evidence to assert its sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel archipelagoes in accordance with international law.