The French owner of a resort in the central Vietnamese province of Thua Thien-Hue has apologized for printing and distributing hundreds of maps that referred to the East Vietnam Sea as “China Sea.”
Michel Scharwizel, director of the Villa Louise Beach & Spa Resort located in Phu Vang District, extended his apology to local press on Friday in regard of some 500 maps with such an incorrect content.
Scharwizel apologized to the Vietnamese people, adding that he has lived in the Southeast Asian country for 13 years and considered it his second home.
The foreign director expressed his love Vietnam, asserting that the incident was just an honest mistake.
According to Scharwizel, his assistant was tasked with designing the maps, which was based solely on Google Maps, resulting in the East Vietnam Sea being called the China Sea.
The adjusted map is signed by the French director. Photo: Tuoi Tre
The foreigner has had his employees retrieve all the remaining publications and hand them to local authorities.
The Economic Security Division under Thua Thien-Hue Province police announced on Wednesday that it had taken away over 250 copies of the erroneous maps issued by the resort.
The sea, covering an area of around 3,500,000 square kilometers east of Vietnam, has been unlawfully claimed by China despite large areas of it belonging to Vietnam pursuant to international law.
