Statue of General Tran Hung Dao in Song Tu Tay Island (Source: VNA)

A statue of General Tran Hung Dao, who is famous in Vietnamese history for fighting off Mongol invaders three times, was unveiled on May 6 on Song Tu Tay Island, part of the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago.

Erected on a site of 600 m2, the 11m high stone statue was built at a cost of 6.5 billion VND (315,000 USD).

The statue was a gift from the authorities and people of the northern province of Nam Dinh to Truong Sa.

General Tran Hung Dao, whose real name was Tran Quoc Tuan, commanded the Dai Viet army that repelled the Mongol invasions in 1258, 1285 and 1288 under the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400).

He was also a man of letters whose “Hich tuong si” (Call for Soldiers” and “Binh thu yeu luoc” (Principles of Military Strategy) have become classics of Vietnamese literature./.