Vietnamese players pull out of Chinese billiards event featuring U-shaped line territorial map

The Peri Laili Cup runs from April 26 to 30 in Hainan and is organized by the China Billiards and Snooker Association (CBSA). The event brings together many of Asia’s top pool players, with total prize money of 822,000 yuan (US$120,240).

Vietnam sent three leading players to the tournament: Duong Quoc Hoang, Nguyen Anh Tuan, and Le Quang Trung. On the opening day, April 26, Hoang spotted that the CBSA was using a map logo showing China’s U-shaped line which depicts Beijing’s claim over most of the East Sea, including the Paracel and Spratly Islands.

Vietnam considers this a violation of its sovereignty over the two archipelagos, as well as its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over maritime zones defined under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Hoang then decided to leave the tournament. Tuan and Trung followed, withdrawing while competing against Chinese players.

Peri Vietnam Tea, the club that manages Tuan and Trung, confirmed the decision on its official page.

“Everyone invested significant effort to prepare, but this issue is extremely serious and cannot be compromised. Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belong to Vietnam,” the statement said.

Three Vietnamese players quit the Chinese billiards tournament because of the ‘cow tongue line’

The U-shaped line with multiple dashes is China’s self-declared claim despite broad international opposition. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration rejected the claims and ruled that Beijing had no legal basis to assert historic rights over resources within the area.

In 2023, Tran Quyet Chien also withdrew from a tournament in Shanghai over the same issue.

During a live broadcast of his exhibition match against Dick Jaspers, organizers displayed a map containing the dash line claim. Chien left the event and returned to Vietnam that same night.