"Truong Sa 1988": Revisiting old documents about the historical event of Gac Ma

History researcher Vo Ha and the book “Truong Sa 1988 - Records of a historical event”. Photo: NVCC

The book “Truong Sa 1988 - Records of a historical event” by researcher Vo Ha (born in 1984) can help young readers today re-access documents and official views of Vietnam more than 30 years ago about the sea and islands.

The book, published by Phanbook and Da Nang Publishing House, is over 500 pages thick and is divided into five parts: China's use of force to illegally invade a part of Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago in 1988; Historical basis and legal basis affirming Vietnam's sovereignty over the Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagos in 1988; World public opinion on the event of China violating Vietnam's sovereignty over the Truong Sa archipelago in 1988; For beloved Truong Sa and The frontline of Truong Sa.

“The book was published with the desire to supplement information and documents about this historical event; to clarify the historical basis and legal basis of Vietnam regarding the Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagos in 1988,” said author Vo Ha.

More than 10 years ago, Vo Ha realized a gap in his understanding of the history of Truong Sa-Hoang Sa, even though he majored in history education. He decided to learn for himself and then, from the perspective of a young person, Vo Ha thought that the young generation of Vietnam also needed to be supplemented like him.

“Respecting history and knowing the truth of history helps us draw the right lessons in international relations and each person's responsibility to society,” author Vo Ha affirmed.

Mr. Bui Van Tieng, Chairman of the Da Nang Historical Science Association, said that the most prominent feature of “Truong Sa 1988 - Records of a historical event” is the official source of documents clearly showing the viewpoints, stances, and political determination of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnam People's Army, as well as the entire Vietnamese nation: Nhan Dan Newspaper and Quan Doi Nhan Dan Newspaper (editorial articles, articles, reports... published from February to June 1988, that is, before and after the Gac Ma incident on March 14, 1988).

“This book is not simply the result of searching for and copying old documents, but also requires the ability to select and arrange those documents according to different aspects of the same issue, so that each document can speak for itself the historical truth,” he commented.

The Chairman of the Da Nang Historical Science Association said that Vietnam’s research works on the East Sea in general and Hoang Sa-Truong Sa in particular are still quite few compared to historical reality and readers’ needs. In particular, they are quite few compared to the number of works and articles on the East Sea published by China. Therefore, this is an important work, contributing to serving readers in general and lecturers and students in particular to better understand history with unforgettable and unforgettable events.

According to Vietnam+