BEIJING - A Chinese spokesman on Tuesday refuted the Vietnamese claim concerning the Xisha and Nansha Islands, stressing the Xisha and Nansha Islands are Chinese territory.

A spokesman for Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs On April 9 said that Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations on March 30 issued a diplomatic note to the United Nations protesting China's two diplomatic notes on sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

"The Xisha and Nansha Islands are Chinese territory. Vietnam's claim violates international law, including the UN Charter and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and is illegal and invalid," Spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a press briefing.