BEIJING/HANOI -- Vietnam has lodged a formal protest following China's announcement the previous day that it is setting up two administrative units on islands in the South China Sea.
"The establishment of the so-called Sansha City and related activities are a grave violation of Vietnam's sovereignty," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said in a statement on Sunday. "Vietnam demands that China respect Vietnam's sovereignty and abolish its wrongful decisions."
