China protests new Vietnamese law claiming islands

BEIJING -- China says it summoned Vietnam's ambassador to protest a new law designating a pair of South China Sea island groups as Vietnamese territory.

The move Thursday indicates Beijing's strong displeasure with what it considers Vietnamese attempts to revive a feud that had largely faded.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the ambassador was told that China had sole jurisdiction over the Spratly and Paracel islands. Hong told reporters that Vietnam's inclusion of them under its maritime law was illegal and invalid and Hanoi must correct its mistake.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and its island groups and its dispute with Vietnam and other claimants occasionally erupts into open confrontation.