Vietnam condemns desecration of Vietnamese flag in Philippines: spokesperson

Vietnam condemns the desecration of its national flag in a protest in front of the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines on Tuesday, Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a press conference in Hanoi on Thursday. The red flag with a yellow star in the center is the national flag of Vietnam, Hang affirmed. The act of tearing the national flag of Vietnam is an insult to the Vietnamese people and must be strongly condemned, Hang said while answering questions about Vietnam’s response to the protest in front of the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines where a group of Filipinos tore the Vietnamese flag. Vietnam demanded the Philippines strictly deal with the case and take effective measures to prevent similar acts which could affect the thriving strategic partnership between the two countries, the spokesperson added. Vietnam and the Philippines are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.