Spokesperson for the Vietnam Foreign Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang

At a regular press conference on Thursday, Hang said the visit, the first overseas trip of Mr. Suga as Japanese Prime Minister, demonstrates the strengthened partnership between Vietnam and Japan.

"Vietnam welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide’s decision to select Vietnam as the first destination of his overseas trip since taking the office. The visit reflects the strong and practical development of the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership. We believe that the visit will be successful contributing to the post-COVID-19 economic recovery and development in both countries," said Hang.

Answering reporters’ questions concerning China’s recent activities in Phu Lam (Woody) island in Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, Hang reiterated that Vietnam has sufficient historical and legal evidence for its sovereignty over Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagos:

She said: "Vietnam strongly protested the establishment of so-called Sansha city. Its related activities have seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, are null and void, unrecognized, and detrimental to relations between countries, and complicate the situation in the East sea, the region and the world."