The Paracel Islands are a group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea administered by the People's Republic of China but also claimed by Vietnam. The Republic of China (Taiwan) formally claims to be the legitimate government representing the entire sovereignty of China, of which it considers the Paracel Islands a part.
The islands are located in the west of the South China Sea, approximately equidistant from the coastlines of China and Vietnam, and about twice as far from the Philippines as it is from either of the first two countries.
While there are archaeological sites indicating occupation at various times in its history, by the beginning of the 20th century the islands had no indigenous inhabitants nor even a permanent population. In 1932, France took over the islands and administered them as part of French Indochina, and later, Vietnam. After World War II, the Republic of China and later the People's Republic of China on the one hand, and Vietnam and later South Vietnam on the other, each maintained control over a portion of the islands. In 1974, in the Battle of the Paracel Islands, People's Republic of China forces took control of the entire island group and has maintained control since.
The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves.
History
- There are some Chinese cultural relics in the Paracel islands dating from the Tang and Song dynasty eras1, and there is some evidence of Chinese habitation on the islands in these periods. 2.
- From 1460 - 1497, under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong, the Vietnamese began to conduct commercial activities around the Paracels archipelago (called Hoang Sa in Vietnamese) as well as the more southerly Spratly archipelago (Truong Sa), such as harvesting the abundant sea-products in the area, and conducting salvaging operations on shipwrecks in the treacherous waters.
- From 1680 - 1705, Do Ba Cong Dao issued Route Maps from the Capital to the Four Directions. This is the first Vietnamese documentation of formal authority over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa island groups.
- In 1700s, state-sponsored occupation of the islands can also be traced to the reign of the Nguyen lords. Salvaging operations became formalized with the establishment of the Hoang Sa detachments or brigades, units of 70 men from the village of An Vinh, the recruitment and organization of which were regulated by the Vietnamese government. Maps drawn by Portuguese and Dutch navigators in the early 17th century identify the islands as Vietnamese.
- From 1802, during the reign of the Nguyen emperors, documentation was produced that distinguished the Truong Sa archipelago from the Hoang Sa Islands and identified both as Vietnamese possessions.
- In 1816,the Vietnamese flag was planted in a formal ceremony on the Paracels.
- In 1836, emperor Minh Mang received a report from his Ministry of Public Works that recommended a comprehensive survey of all the East Sea islands because of their "great strategic importance to our maritime borders".
- In 1838, Phan Huy Chu published the Detailed Map of the Dai Nam. The map expressly mentioned the Paracels as part of Vietnamese territory. In the same year, Bishop Jean-Louis Taberd published the " Map of Great Annam" (Annam Dai Quoc Hoa Do) confirming the Paracels as Vietnamese territory.
- In 1932, French Indochina and the Nguyen dynasty of Vietnam annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island.
- In 1939, Empire of Japan invaded and occupied the islands from the French. Ironically, the official reason for the Japanese invasion was that the islands were Chinese territory.
- After World War II, the Republic of China government reaffirmed the Chinese sovereignty over the islands like other islands in the South China Sea, and dispatched patrol force to the islands, but this was challenged by the French. However, the dispute was only political and diplomatic as both sides attempted to gain US backing.
- In the latter half of the 1940s, the French reclaimed the Paracel Islands. The Republic of China has never accepted the French claims.
- In 1951, with the international Treaty of San Francisco, Vietnam's representative claimed that both the Paracels and Spratlys are territories of Vietnam, and was met with no challenge from the nations at the conference. However, neither the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China were invited: they were busy fighting a civil war, and both considered the claim to be a violation of Chinese sovereignty. Neither Chinese government has ever recognized the legitimacy of the treaty.
- After the fall of the nationalist regime in China, the Chinese gained control of the eastern half of the Paracel islands. Several small clashes occurred between the French and the communist Chinese naval forces during this period, but eventually a de facto line of control was established with the Chinese occupying Woody Island and the Macclesfield Bank while the remainder were held by Franco-Vietnamese forces. Despite the reality of the situation, there was no recognition by any country of China's claims of the islands.
- After the French left in 1956, South Vietnam replaced the French in controlling the islands. Again, both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China politically and diplomatically condemned the decision and reaffirmed their control over the islands. Although the South Vietnamese inherited the same French claim over the entire Paracel Islands, the period was marked by the peace and both sides held onto what was in their control without venturing into other's domain. At the same time, the maps and other official documents of the North Vietnam government during this period had shown that the islands belong to China, mainly due to the fact that China was the largest backer of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
- The political and diplomatic dispute became an armed conflict on January 20, 1974 in the Battle of the Paracel Islands when the South Vietnamese government unilaterally declared its intention to survey the island territory for petroleum extraction and the construction of a military airbase. During the same time, the South Vietnamese Navy sent a fleet of frigates to the area and positioned the fleet over the line of control. In response, Chinese naval units met and defeated the South Vietnamese forces. With the ongoing civil war embroiling South Vietnam's attention, no military attempt was made to retake the islands from the People's Republic of China, and they have been administered by the People's Republic of China ever since.
Geographical data
Islands
- English names:
- Islands: Tree Island, West Sand, Rocky Island, Woody Island, Lincoln Island, Pattle Island, Robert Island, Money Island, Drummond Island, Duncan Island, Passu Keah, Triton Island, etc.
- Reefs: North Reef, Vuladore Reef, Discovery Reef, Bombay Reef, etc.
- Chinese names:
- Yongle Islands（永樂群島）: Shanhudao, Ganquandao,Jinyindao,Chenhangdao,Jinqindao, Guangjindao, etc.
- Xuande Islands (宣德群岛): Zhaoshudao (赵述岛), Beidao (北岛), Zhongdao (中岛), Nandao (Island) (南岛), Shidao, Dongdao (东岛), Yongxingdao (永兴岛),etc.
- and also: Zhongjiandao (中建岛), Gaojianshi, Panshiyu, Yuzhuojiao,Langhuajiao (浪花礁), Beijiao (北礁), etc.
- Vietnamese names:
- Nhóm Đông (East Group, or Amphitrite Group; South Vietnamese: Nhóm An Vĩnh): đảo Cây (aka đảo Cù Mộc) (Tree Island), đảo Bắc (North Island), đảo Giữa/Trung (Middle Island), đảo Nam (South Island), đảo Phú Lâm (Woody Island), đảo Linh Côn (Lincoln Island), Cồn Cát Tây (West Sand), Cồn Cát Nam (South Sand), Đá/Hòn Tháp (Rocky Island), etc.
- Nhóm Tây (West Group, or Crescent Group; aka Nhóm Trăng Khuyết or Nhóm Nguyệt Thiềm): đảo Hoàng Sa (Pattle Island), (đảo) Đá Bắc (North Reef), đảo Hữu Nhật (Robert Island), (đảo) Đá Lồi (Discovery Reef), đảo/đá Bạch Quy (Passu Keah/Island), đảo Tri Tôn (Triton Island), đảo Quang Ảnh (Money Island), đảo Quang Hòa (Duncan Island), đảo Duy Mộng (Drummond Island), Cồn/Đá Bông Bay (Bombay Reef), Đảo/Đá Chim Yến (Vuladdore Reef), etc.
See also
References
- (1686),Do Ba Cong Dao (Buu Cam Translated), “Toan Tap Thien Nam Tu Chí Lo Do Thu ”, Hong Duc Ban Do, Saigon, 1962.
- (1776) Le Quí Don (Le Xuan Giao Translated), Phu Bien Tap Luc,Saigon, 1972
- (1821)Phan Huy CHU (Nguyen Tho Duc Translated), "Lich Trieu Hien Chuong Loai Chí”, Saøigoøn, 1972.
- Jean Louis TABERD, “Note on the Geography of Cochinchina”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, boä VI, 9/1837
- (1838) Jean Louis TABERD, “Additional Notice on the Geography of Cochinchina”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, boä VII, 4/1838, pp 317 - 324.
- (1849) GUTZLAFF, “Geography of the Cochinchinese Empire”, Journal of The Geographical Society of London, vol the 19th, p93.
- Vietnamese Claims to the Truong Sa Archipelago.Todd C. Kelly ,August 1999
External links
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Countries and other territories in Southeast Asia |
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Disputed territories
Islands in the Naf River (Bangladesh, Burma) · Macclesfield Bank (PRC, ROC) · Paracel Islands (PRC, ROC, Vietnam) · Pratas Islands (PRC, ROC) · Sabah (Malaysia, Philippines) · Scarborough Shoal (Philippines, PRC, ROC) · Spratly Islands (Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, PRC, ROC, Vietnam) · Active separatist or autonomist movements
Aceh · Maluku Islands · West Papua · Chinland · Sulawesi · Nagaland · Wa State · Zogam · Bangsamoro · Patani
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People's Republic of China
Vietnam
Republic of China
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