Image capture of video by Shanghaiist via Twitter Account - China asked Vietnam to investigate report that a Chinese visitor’s passport was handed back with profanities written on two pages
- Photos of the passport showed that the profanity was written on the pages that contain a map including China’s “nine-dash line”
- The “nine-dash line” is a map line marking China’s claim to territories in the South China Sea, which overlap with Vietnam’s claims
HANOI, Vietnam – China is asking Vietnam to investigate the report that a Chinese visitor’s passport was handed back with profanities written on two pages.
An article by AFP published by ABS-CBN News said that photos of the passport showed that the profanity was written on the pages that contain a map including China’s “nine-dash line”.
The “nine-dash line” is a map line marking China’s claim to territories in the South China Sea. Just recently, China’s claims, which overlap with Vietnam’s territorial claims, were rejected by an international tribunal.
The passport owner, identified as Zhong from China’s Guangdong province, was entering Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City. She told the local media in Vietnam that she was “very disappointed at the personal qualities of Vietnamese officials”.
Meanwhile, the Chinese consulate in Ho Chi Minh City was not happy with the act and said in a statement that it was “shameless and cowardly”, adding that it had “stained the dignity of both China and its nationals”.
China had asked Vietnam to investigate the incident and “seriously punish” those responsible for it. Vietnamese officials had confirmed that an investigation is to be conducted.
Back in 2012, new passports were issued by Beijing bearing a revised maps to include the “nine-dash line”, which China uses to demarcate its territorial claims.
Despite the international tribunal ruling, China said it does not recognize an international tribunal ruling in July that said its claims had no legal basis.
An article by BBC News said Vietnamese border officials announced earlier this month that they were refusing to stamp the new passports and that Chinese visitors would be issued with a separate on-arrival visa instead.
“By issuing separate visas, Vietnamese authorities can avoid directly stamping the passport, thus demonstrating Vietnam’s stance of not recognizing the nine-dash line in any form,” said by the vice-chairman of Quang Ning province’s People’s Council, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ky.
Reports said customs officers at Vietnam’s Da Nang airport have also confiscated maps featuring the nine-dash line from Chinese passengers.
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