Sovereignty is the glue that binds the community of more than 5.3 million overseas Vietnamese with their home country. This notion creates a spirit of national unity and encourages them to work together to recognize the sea and islands as the unquestionable territorial rights of the Fatherland.
Spending time with officers, soldiers and local citizens, OVs nurture the love for the sea, islands, and the Fatherland. After more than two years waiting for the trip, which was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bui Thi Thom, a Vietnamese expat in Germany, remembered the feeling of having butterflies on her stomach and looking forward to the day of departure for Truong Sa and DK1 platform.
For Thom, this is a valuable experience in life. “I had the chance to see with my own eyes the lives of soldiers and people on the island, seeing the intense vitality of the homeland’s sea and islands, and lived in love and pride in the Fatherland sovereignty over sea and island,” she shared. Sharing his pride in representing over 450,000 Vietnamese people living in Japan to visit Truong Sa and DK1 rig, Dinh Hung Cuong said that all of the 41 expats have deep sentiments for the soldiers and people in Truong Sa Island district and DK1 rig.
Right after setting foot on Song Tu Tay Island, which is the first leg of their trip, Cuong visited and presented gifts to teachers and pupils at Song Tu Tay commune’s primary school. He sees the region as in the hands of the next generation, and the children who grow up here will understand the island, and love and preserve it better than anyone else.
“In the past few days, we have all felt the youthful enthusiasm in each officer and soldier who are on duty day and night to guard the sea and islands. Images of soldiers have inspired the love for the sea, islands, and the homeland among all expatriates – those returning from places as far away as America, Africa, and Europe to countries close to the motherland like Laos, Cambodia and Thailand,” said Cuong.
Cao Danh, an expatriate from Laos, expressed his respect for the generations of naval soldiers who guard the sea and islands day and night, and are willing to sacrifice for the Fatherland.
Visiting Truong Sa and DK1 rig for the first time, Tran Anh Tuan, member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and Chairman of the Vietnamese Association in Poland, was deeply moved. As a son who has been away from the country for a long time, not only Tuan but also more than 30,000 Vietnamese people in Poland always give their love to their motherland, and care about the development of the country, especially the life in the remote areas, territorial waters, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes. Sharing his feeling about the trip, Tuan said, more than 30 years away from the homeland, he has visited many countries around the world, but no trip has made him feel so emotional like this.
Overseas Vietnamese present gifts to children in Truong Sa island district (Photo: VNA)Nguyen Thi Huong, an expatriate from Germany, could not hide her emotions when the delegation joined a ceremony in commemoration for soldiers who sacrificed on Gac Ma island. At that moment, Huong and other overseas Vietnamese were all moved by their sacrifice.
“We cried because we all appreciate the national historical value and the great sacrifice of generations of Vietnamese soldiers and people working at the sea and keeping the island. We shed tears also because of the joy of the integrity of the territory and territorial waters of the Fatherland today,” Huong shared.
Recalling the honour of welcoming the first overseas Vietnamese delegation to Truong Sa and DK1 rig in 2012, Lieutenant Colonel Luong Xuan Giap, Political Commissar of Brigade 146, Naval Region 4, said that during the past 10 years, overseas Vietnamese understand more about the life of the army and people on Truong Sa archipelago thanks to the trips. This is the basis for creating trust with Vietnamese people abroad, spreading the love of the sea and islands among the OV community. The affection and attachment of the expatriates are also a huge source of encouragement for Truong Sa soldiers and people./.
