NGS acknowledges denoting Hoang Sa with Chinese name can be misleading

Hanoi (VNA) – The National Geographic Society (NGS) has acknowledged that denoting the Hoang Sa archipelago with the Chinese name and the word “ China ” without further explanation can be misleading or misinterpreted.

The Society made the acknowledgment in a press release issued on March 16,
explaining its posting of the online world map on which it designates the Chinese
name of “Xisha Qundao” with the word “ China ” in the Hoang Sa (Paracel)
archipelago of Vietnam at http://www.natgeomaps.com .

“We have carefully reviewed the situation and recognized that simply denoting the
archipelago with the Chinese name and the word ‘ China ’ in parenthesis
without further explanation can be misleading and misinterpreted,” the press
release said.

The NGS said that in its regional and other maps of sufficient scale, it
specifically recognises and designates the alternative Vietnamese name “Hoang
Sa” and the traditional name “ Paracel Islands ” for the archipelago.

On March 13, Vietnamese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga claimed
that “the world map denoting ‘Paracel Is. China ’ published by the National
Geographic is wrong” and requested that the society correct this mistake.

In its press release, the NGS said in the future it will either provide the
additional explanation that is included on its other maps, or will omit any
designation.

The press release was posted on the NGS’s website.-Enditem