Facebook removes Paracel and Spratly Islands from China's map

Thứ Năm, 05/07/2018, 20:16

PSNews - Upon Vietnam's request, Facebook has completely removed the Paracel and Spratly Islands from China's map, according to Le Quang Tu Do, Deputy Director of the Broadcasting and Electronic Information Department, under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Regarding this serious mistake made by Facebook, , Le Quang Tu Do spoke to reporters of the Public Security Newspaper that, after discovering this problem, the Department of Broadcasting and Electronic asked Facebook to rule out the Paracel and Spratly islands from China’s map on the social network.

Representatives of Facebook affirmed that this was just a technical mistake, but not a political issue. They also said that the wrong map was not made by Facebook but provided by a 3rd party.

Currently, the map provided by the ad manager tool of Facebook does not show Vietnam’s Paracel and Spratly Islands in the East Sea of Vietnam as parts of China.

Earlier, the map's erroneous labeling of Paracel and Spratly islands as parts of China outraged many people in Vietnam, where Facebook is the most popular social network, with more than 58 million active accounts.

Vietnam has consistently affirmed that it has adequate legal and historical evidence to prove its sovereignty over the two archipelagoes. It has repeatedly asserted that all activities violating Vietnam's territorial sovereignty flout international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

By Linh Bui