Ship carrying Tet gifts to Truong Sa islanders. Photo: VOV

That's when the ships of the Naval Zone 4 carried tons of food and Tet specialties to islands belonging to Truong Sa archipelago, including kumquat trees, apricot blossoms, green wrapping leaves, sticky rice, pork, chicken, and confectioneries.

The ships carrying Tet to Truong Sa this year are special and meaningful, when it takes place in the context of a complicated pandemic situation. The work of preparing goods and receiving Tet gifts for Truong Sa is carried out with great care by the Naval Zone 4 Command, to ensure safety, as Colonel Nguyen Thien Quan, deputy commander of Naval Zone 4, puts it:

“All goods are carefully selected from the source to ensure food hygiene. We conduct Covid-19 testing and isolate the force involved in transporting goods to ensure safety. Despite the difficulties, we want to ensure the life and necessities for the Truong Sa army and people to welcome the happy, and safe Lunar New Year,” said Quan.

Lieutenant Colonel Trinh Xuan Huan has celebrated several Tet occasions on Truong Sa archipelago. “What we get are not just goods but also love sent from the mainland, which is always sacred to our soldiers based on Truong Sa archipelago. We look forward to the days when Tet draws near to feel the warmth of love and know that we are not far away from the mainland,” said Huan.  

When the ships dock in, spring arrives to Truong Sa archipelago, as the saying goes by the island soldiers when they see the ship docked. The apricot trees and kumquat trees full of spring energy are being brought to the islands as spring has returned to Truong Sa, the nation’s sacred sovereignty.