(VOVworld) – Quang Ngai province has submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism a dossier to recognize the ceremony to pay tribute to fallen combatants of the Hoang Sa Flotilla as a national intangible cultural heritage of outstanding values. The ceremony has been observed by people living on Ly Son island, Quang Ngai province for hundreds of years.

The ceremony to pay tribute to fallen combatants of the Hoang Sa Flotilla is held annually on Ly Son island in the third lunar month (photo: vnexpress.net)

The ceremony honored fallen combatants of the Hoang Sa Flotilla who sacrificed their lives to safeguard the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratley) archipelagos and Vietnam’s marine sovereignty hundreds of years ago. Nguyen Dang Vu, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism says: "The ceremony honoring Hoang Sa Flotilla is an invaluable cultural heritage. It confirms Vietnam’s territorial sovereignty because hundreds of years ago, people on Ly Son island measured and installed national sovereignty markers on Hoang Sa archipelago."

Quang Ngai provincial authorities will, for the first time, organize the ceremony to pay tribute to fallen combatants of the Hoang Sa Flotilla and Quang Ngai Sea and Island Cultural Week at the provincial level with diverse activities on April 27 and 28.