Sea shells can be found anywhere, but it is only in these remote islands that shell-shaped flowers hold such special meaning.

Military Hospital 175 under the Ministry of National Defence, in co-ordination with Army Corps 18, has successfully transported three fishermen having health problems while operating in the waters off Truong Sa in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa to the mainland for emergency aid, the hospital reported on September 6.

Lunar New Year (Tet) wishes were extended to residents and soldiers in Truong Sa (Spratly) island district via a live television programme organised by authorities of the central province of Khanh Hoa on January 17.

There will be 8-10 storms and tropical depressions in the East Sea from now to February 2023, of which from three to five storms are likely to directly affect Vietnam’s mainland, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

‘Truong Sa in My Heart’ is a new calendar for 2019, launched recently on HCM City’s Book Street.

Ministries, agencies and localities should be on the highest alert for typhoon Aere, the sixth to hit Vietnam so far this year, said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong.