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{{Infobox Disputed Islands | plural = yes | name = Paracel Islands | image name = ParacelIslands.png | image caption = Paracel Islands | image size = 300px | locator map = | map_custom = | native name = | native name link = | other_names = | location = South China Sea | coordinates = 16°30′N 112°00′E / 16.500°N 112.000°E / 16.500; 112.000 | archipelago = | total islands = >30 | major islands = Rocky Island, Tree Island, [[Woody Island,Hoang Sa | area = 15,000 km² (ocean surface) | length = | width = | coastline = 518 kilometres (322 mi) | highest mount = on Rocky Island | elevation = 14 metres (46 ft) | country claim = People's Republic of China | country claim divisions title = Province | country claim divisions = Hainan | country 1 claim = VietNam | country 1 claim divisions title = Municipality | country 1 claim divisions = Kaohsiung | country 2 claim = Vietnam | country 2 claim divisions title = Province | country 2 claim divisions = Da Nang | country = VietNam | country admin divisions title = Prefecture-level city | country admin divisions = Sansha | population = | population as of = | density = | ethnic groups = | additional info = }}

Paracel Islands
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	西沙群島
Simplified Chinese	西沙群岛
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xīshā Qúndǎo Yue: Cantonese Jyutping saisaa kwandou
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Quần đảo Hoàng Sa

The Paracel Islands, also called Xisha Islands (Chinese: 西沙群岛) in Chinese and Hoàng Sa Islands (Quần đảo Hoàng Sa, 群島黃沙) in Vietnamese, is a group of islands under the administration of Hainan Province, the People's Republic of China (PRC). Vietnam and the Republic of China (Taiwan) (ROC) also claim sovereignty of these islands. China and South Vietnam each occupied part of the Paracel Islands before 1974 when a brief conflict occurred. China took over and has controlled all of the Paracel Islands since then. In June 21, 2012, the PRC established Sansha City, with these islands as one of its three towns, amidst strong protests from Vietnam and the Philippines.

The Paracel Islands consist of over 30 islets, sandbanks or reefs, occupy about 15,000 km² of the ocean surface, and are located in the South China Sea. Turtles live on the islands, and seabirds have left nests and guano deposits, but there are no permanent human residents except for a small number of troops. The archipelago is approximately equidistant from the coastlines of Vietnam and China, 180 nautical miles SE of Hainan Island, and about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines.

The islands are divided into two main groups. The Amphitrite group is in the northeast and the Crescent group is in the southwest, and they are located about 70 km (43 mi) from one another. Subject to hot and humid climate, with abundant rainfall and frequent typhoons, the archipelago is surrounded by productive fishing grounds and potential oil and gas reserves.

Geography

Geographic data

• Geographic coordinates: 16°30′N 112°00′E / 16.500°N 112.000°E / 16.500; 112.000
• Coastline: 518 km
• Climate: tropical
• Elevation extremes:
  • lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
  • highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m
• Natural resources: fishery, coral reef, possible oil and gas nearby
• Natural hazards: typhoons

Amphitrite Group

The Amphitrite group was named after the French frigate Amphitrite of the Jesuit missionary. Lying in the most northeastern of the Paracel Islands, at the coordinates of 16.97 degrees North and 112.28 degrees East, the group consists of six low narrow islands with sand cays; enclose shallow lagoons, connected by reefs of rock, and about 37 km (23 mi) northwest from Lincoln Island. The northern section of the group comprises South Island, Middle Island, North Island, and Tree Island. The last unit lies toward the eastern tip of this section with coconut palm trees seen on the island. Together they form the upper branch of an ellipse of 22 km (14 mi) long semimajor axis that approximately orientates from west to east. The southern section consists of two islands called Woody and Rocky Islands lying very near each other. The former located approximately 5 km (3 mi) southwards from the southern tip of the east extremity of the northern section. This feature is the largest island of the Amphitrite group.

• West Sand
• Tree Island
• Woody Island
• Rocky Island

Crescent Group

Duncan Islands Drummond Island Money Island Antelope Reef Robert Island Pattle Island Observation Bank Crescent Group, looking westward

Lying about 70 km (43 mi) southwest of Amphitrite group, at the latitude of 16.52 degrees North and the longitude of 111.63 degrees East, this group consists of 8 islands and forms a crescent-like structure hanging from west to east and enclosing a deep central lagoon. The group measures 31 km (19 mi) and 15 km (9 mi) in length and width, from east to west and from north to south, respectively. All of the islands of the group are vegetated except for small cays. Located in the southwestern extremity of the group, at the hanging point of the crescent structure, is Money Island. This feature has some small cays in the southern side. The Antelope Reef, submerged at high tide and containing a central lagoon, lies 2.4 km (1.5 mi) east of the island of Money. Respectively, northeast of this reef are Robert and Pattle Islands. They are separated from each other by a 3.5 km (2.2 mi) wide, deep channel. The latter is the largest island of the group; a lighthouse and a radio and weather station were built there on 1937. The Observation Bank situates at the northernmost of the Crescent group and contains a small cay; from the southeastern side lying a 12 km (7 mi) long, boomerang shaped reef with the island of Drummond. The last distinct unit of the atoll-like structure is the Duncan Islands group, which is approximately 3 km (2 mi) west of the Drummond Island and about 8 km (5 mi) east of the island of Antelope.

• Pattle Islands
• Money Island
• Drummond Island
• Duncan Islands

Other features

• Bombay Reef: The elongated-structure reef situates at the southeastern corner of the Paracel Islands and lies approximately 90 km (56 mi) southeast from the Crescent Group. With most parts are submerged, the reef is measured approximately 18 km (11 mi) and 5 km (3 mi) from east to west and from north to south, respectively. The Bombay Reef encloses a deep lagoon with rocks on its edge.
• Bremen Bank: Located 24 km (15 mi) north from Bombay Reef, the submerged shallow bank is measured approximately 23 km (14 mi) in length from northeast to southwest. The shallowest area is about 12 m and located in the southwestern part of the bank.
• Discovery Reef: Measured approximately 27 km (17 mi) in length from east to west, and 7 km (4 mi) from north to south, the reef is located about 18 km (11 mi) south from the Crescent Group. Completely submerged, the elongated ring structure is the largest single reef of the Paracel Islands. The reef has two large, deep openings into the lagoon on the southern side.
• Itis Bank: Located 11 km (7 mi) south from the Amphitrite Group, this shallow bank is measured approximately 5 km (3 mi) in length with an average depth of 12 m (39 ft).
• Lincoln Island: Surrounded by a coral reef, located 37 km (23 mi) southeast from the Amphitrite Group, the island is covered with brushes and fairly high trees, including coconut palm trees. The depth increases sharply on the northern and eastern sides of the island but the southern and south western regions are shallow. An observation post on the western side was found by officers of the German government surveys in 1883. In 1948, Great Britain requested France for permission to use the feature for military exercises.
• North Reef: Situated approximately 56 km (35 mi) north from the Crescent group and about 70 km (43 mi) west-northwest from the Amphitrite group, the reef is the most northwesterly feature of the Paracel Islands. Most part of the reef is submerged. Ruggedly, rocks are around the edge and barely above water. There is a passage into the lagoon on the southwestern side of the reef.
• Passu Keah: This small reef encloses a shallow lagoon and located about 12 km (7 mi) south of eastern side of Discovery Reef, approximate 37 miles east-northeast from Triton Island. The sand cay measures 9 km (6 mi) in length.
• Triton Island: The vegetated sand cay stands on a steep-sided coral reef and measures 1.5 km (1 mi) in length. This southernmost island of the Paracel Islands lies far away from the rest and situates about 56 km (35 mi) southwest of Discovery Reef.
• Vuladdore Reef: Mostly submerged, the reef orientates from east to west, measures 12 km (7 mi) and approximate 3 km (2 mi) in length and width, respectively. Lying near the center of the Paracel Islands, this feature situates about 18 km (11 mi) west-northwest from Discovery Reef. Some small spiral rocks are seen on the reef.

List of all Islands with Chinese and Vietnamese names

Satellite images

• Crescent Group Crescent Group
• Money Island
• Pattle Island
• Robert Island
• Antelope Reef
• Bombay Reef
• Bremen Bank
• Discovery Reef
• Iltis Bank
• Lincoln Island
• North Reef
• Passu Keah Reef
• Triton Island
• Vuladdore Reef Vuladdore Reef

Origin of the names of the islands

Xisha

.

The Chinese name Xisha (西沙), literally means Western Beach, refers to its location in the west of the South China Sea. The Chinese called the different groups of islands in the South China Sea Western Beach (Xisha, Paracel), Southern Beach (Nansha, Spratly), Eastern Beach (Dongsha, Pratas) and Central Beach respectively. In a Chinese book published in Ming Dynasty Voyage with the Tail Wind (zh:順風相送) which was based on the documentation in Yuan Dynasty in 13th century, the islands were called Wanglishitang (万里石塘) or "Ten Thousands Miles of Stone Pond" (“舟过此〔七洲洋〕极险，稍贪东便是万里石塘”). The same name is also presented in the 1430 Map of Zheng He's Voyage (郑和航海图) as 万生石塘.).

Hoàng Sa

The Vietnamese call the islands Hoang Sa, (黃沙 or Yellow Sands), has been found in historic Vietnamese documents dating back to the 15th century. In the modern language system it is written as Hoàng Sa or Cát Vàng. They all have the same meaning that is the Yellow Sands or the Yellow Sandbank. Before the early 19th century, the present-day Spratly Islands were treated as the features of Hoàng Sa. Only under the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng (1820–1841) when the Spratlys were distinctly delineated and officially named Vạn Lý Trường Sa (萬里長沙), the Ten-thousand-league Long Sandbank.

Pracel and Paracel

On the "Map of Europe, Africa and Asia" published in 1598 by Cornelis Claez, an unnamed band of rocks and sandbanks shown in the neighborhood of the present-day location of the Paracel and Spratly Islands. About two decades later, the names Pracel and Costa de Pracel (Coast of Pracel) appeared on the "Chart of Asia and eight city maps" published in 1617 by Williem Jansz Blaeu, a Dutch map maker. The coast belonged to the Kingdom of Cauchi China.

As early as at the beginning of the 16th century, had the Portuguese vessels frequented the South China Sea; then later came the Dutch, the English, the Spanish, and the French. They all wanted to become a major trader in the region of great opportunities commercially, but was still less known to the west. The name Paracel started replacing Pracel on maps and charts as the century passed. Typically, on the "Map of the coast of Tonquin and Cochinchina", made in 1747 by Pierre d'Hondt, the dangerous band of rugged rocks was labeled "Le Paracel", a French phonetic notation. Because of its peculiarity on an important water channel, Ilhas de Pracel (Pracel Islands) had drawn much attention from navigators and hydrographers for several centuries. In addition, recent disputes have once again inflamed the popularity of the islands; but the origination of the terminology is still vaguely understood. There are different stories about the names but none of them are able to provide any convincing evidence.

The report "Paracel and Spratly Islands on Charts and Maps made by Westerners" by Dr. Dai-Viet Nguyen (Nguyễn Đại Việt) of Vietnamese Nationalist Party (Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng) has shed light on the origin of the terminology. Part of his findings included various citations, typically:

The coast of Brazil from Santa Catharina island to Maranluio presents a peculiarity which is worthy of remark; for it appears as though it were encircled by two bands of elevated ground (dentures de haut fonds), which, except in a few intervals, are continued throughout all its extent, and seem as if intended to defend the land from the encroachment and impetuosity of the waves, which continually lash the shores. One of these defences adjacent to the land is a ridge rocks, which forms a kind of border, extending principally from cape Frio to Maranhao. The other natural bulwark or defence of the coast is a bank, situated from 2 to 10 leagues from the land, generally of a moderate though irregular depth, which the natives term Pracel or Paracel, as all the depths are unequal and irregular where the inhabitants fish. It may be said that this Pracel the same as the recife...

or,

Off Mount Melançia (Ion. 39 degrees 18') before noticed a bank commences which thence extends all the way to the River Iguarassu, an extent of 45 leagues. This bank which is called in the country Pracel de Caracu from the name of the most considerable hamlet on this part of the coast, extends outward about 3 leagues from the shore, and is circumscribed by the depth of 6 fathoms...

Ecologically, it is understood that the terminology was used to classify a certain islands, rather than being used as a proper noun. Notably, that class of islands seems to possess a number of special characteristics, which may be defined as follows:

Pracel is a moderately elevated chain of islets, sandbanks, and reefs. These features are continuously distributed and stretched over a noticeable distance of tens or hundreds of kilometers in length. Pracel may not be a suitable place for human residents, but its irregular depth creates an ideal environment inhabited by fish. Pracel often forms a natural bulwark as an outer line of defense for a coast or a land.

Regarding the features off the coast of the Kingdom of Cauchi China, their structure closely fits the above description. By piecing all the elements together, undoubtedly, it is the Portuguese people who purposely classified them as a pracel in their native language in the early 16th century. Pracel is an antiquated variation of the now much more common form parcel, which was used by the Portuguese navigators to designate shallow seas or sea banks, and is still widely found in the toponimy of Portuguese-speaking countries. Approximately three hundred and fifty years later, in the early-mid-19th century, Ilhas de Pracel was divided into two archipelagos. From that time onwards, the names Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands have become more popular internationally and widely used on charts, maps, and related documents.

Infrastructure and information of the Islands

Fresh water

There is limited supply of fresh water on the islands. China has planned to build a solar energy powered desalination plant on the islands.

Electricity

There are both wind power and solar power facilities to supply electricity on the islands.

Communication

There is a post office, hospital, bank and hostel on Woody Island. The Chinese postal zip code of the island is 572000, and the telephone area code is +86 (0898).

Transport

There is an airport on Woody Island. The runway is of 2400m long, and can handle landing and take-off of Boeing-737 or planes of similar size. Flight services operate on Haikou - Xisha route. There are three main roads on Woody Island. There is also a 800m long cement bank connecting Woody Island and Rocky Island.

Tourism

The island has been open for tourists since 1997 as announced by the government of China. There are two museums, a Naval Museum and a Maritime Museum, on Woody Island.

The territorial dispute and its historical background

The sovereignty of the archipelago has been the subject of disputes among China, Taiwan, and Vietnam since the 20th century. Around the mid-19th century, after conquering Vietnam, France subsequently took over and administered the islands on behalf of her colony. In 1883 German boats surveyed the islands but withdrew the survey eventually after receiving protests from the Qing Dynasty of China. France annexed the islands as part of French Indochina despite protests from China in the 1930s, but was taken over by Japanese troops during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japan renounced the claims to the islands after the war and the Nationalist Chinese retook the Paracel islands in late 1946. A small Chinese platoon was stationed on Woody Island.

After the communists gained control of China in 1949, the country occupied Woody Island, the main island of the Amphitrite group and the only island that was occupied at the time. Pattle Island, the largest of the Crescent group, on the other hand, was later taken by the French Indochina and then controlled by South Vietnam following independence in 1956. Tensions over the islands continued to rise unceasingly since then.

Military engagement

Main article: Battle of the Paracel Islands

In 1974, the political and diplomatic dispute on the islands became an armed conflict between China and South Vietnam. On 16 January, South Vietnamese naval officers and an American observer reported to Saigon some suspected military activities of the People's Liberation Army Navy at the Drummond and Duncan islands. After receiving the report, the government of South Vietnam decided to counter the Chinese forces, to defend the South Vietnamese-controlled section (the western half of the Paracels) from Chinese occupation, and sent a unit of frigates to the area. On 19 January, there were sea and land battles between the Chinese and Vietnamese forces with casualties on both sides. At the end, the PLAN fleet defeated the naval force of South Vietnam. With the ongoing civil war with the Viet Cong embroiling South Vietnam's attention and the absence of the USA's support, no military attempt was made to re-engage the PRC over the islands. After the military engagement and the subsequent victory, the PRC gained the entire archipelago and has taken control of Paracel Islands ever since. It was a significant turning point for the PRC but the sovereignty dispute on the islands remains unresolved with Vietnam.

Historical perspectives

China

618–1279

There are some Chinese cultural relics in the Paracel islands dating from the Tang and Song dynasty eras, and there is some evidence of Chinese habitation on the islands in these periods. According to the Wujing Zongyao, a book published in the Northern Song dynasty in 1044, the Song government then included the Islands in the patrol areas of the Navy of the Court.

1279–1368

In 1279, the Yuan Dynasty emperor sent the famous high-level official and astronomer, Guo Shoujing, to the South China Sea to survey and measure the islands and the surrounding sea area. Guo's base of survey was located in the Paracel Islands. His activities were well recorded in Yuan Shi, or History of Yuan. According to Yuan Shi, the South China Sea islands were within the boundary of the Yuan Dynasty. Maps published in the Yuan era invariably included the Changsha (the Paracels) and the Shitang (the Spratlys) within the domain of Yuan.

1368–1912

Relevant local annals and other historic materials of the Ming (1368~1644) and the Qing (1644~1912) dynasties continued to . The Qiongzhou Prefecture (the highest administrative authority in Hainan) exercised jurisdiction over the Paracel and Spratly Islands in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In 1883, the Qing government lodged strong protests against Germany when the Germans were conducting survey activities in the Paracel and Spratly areas; as a result of such protests, the Germans had to terminate their survey activities. The Sino-French treaty of 1887 between Qing China and France, who had occupied Indochina by that time, expressly provided that the islands east of a delimitation line, known as the Sino-Tonkin delimitation line, should belong to China, whereas the Paracel and Spratly Islands are located east of the delimitation line. In 1910, the Qing government decided to invite Chinese merchants to contract for the administration of the development affairs of the South China Sea islands, and demanded that officials shall provide protection and maintenance in order to highlight Chinese territory and protect its titles and interests.

1912–1950s

After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the new Government of Guangdong Province decided to place the Paracel Islands under the jurisdiction of the Ya Xian County of Hainan Prefecture in 1911. The Southern Military Government in 1921 reaffirmed the 1911 decision. China continued to exercise authority over the South China Sea islands by such means as granting licenses or contracts to private Chinese merchants for the development and exploitation of guano and other resources on those islands and protesting against foreign nations' claims, occupations, and other activities.

On July 27, 1932, the Chinese Foreign Ministry instructed the Chinese Envoy to France to lodge a diplomatic protest to the French Foreign Ministry and to deny France's claims to the Paracel Islands. On November 30 of the same year, Zhu Zhaoshen, a high-level inspection official of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, issued public correspondence Number 66 to the French Consul in Guangzhou, reiterating that "it is absolutely beyond doubt that the Xisha Islands fall within the boundary of China". Despite repeated Chinese protests, French troops, who had colonized Indochina in the 19th century, invaded and occupied the Paracel Islands on July 3, 1938. This took place shortly after the breakout of the Second Sino-Japanese War, when China was fully engaged in resisting Japan's invasion. Three days later, on July 6, the Japanese Foreign Ministry also issued a declaration in protest of the French occupation:

The statement of Great Britain and France made respectively in 1900 and 1921 already declared that the Xisha Islands were part of the Administrative Prefecture of Hainan Island. Therefore, the current claims made by An'nan or France to the Xisha Islands are totally unjustifiable.

During the Second World War, Japanese expelled the French troops and took over the islands in spite of the 1938 declaration. At the end of the war (Asian-Pacific Region), Nationalist China formally retook the Paracels, Spratlys and other islands in the South China Sea in October and November 1946. In Geneva accord of 1954 Japan formally renounced all of its claims to, inter alia, the South China Sea islands which it had occupied during the World War II.

Vietnam

15th–17th centuries

• 1460-1497, under the reign of Emperor Lê Thánh Tông, the Vietnamese began conducting commercial activities on and around Hoàng Sa, including harvesting abundant sea-products and conducting salvage operations on shipwrecks.
• In 1634, under the Lê Dynasty (1527–1786), the ship Grootebroek of the Dutch East India Company sank in the vicinity of the Paracel archipelago. Using a small boat, captain Huijch Jansen and 12 sailors managed to reach Annam, territory of Lord Nguyễn Phước Nguyên (1613–1635), to seek rescue for other castaways remained on the islands.

• 1680-1705, Lord Trịnh Căn instructed Đỗ Bá Công Đạo to publish Thiên Nam tứ chí lộ đồ (天南四至路圖), an encyclopedia consists of 4 series of maps that detail routes from Thăng Long, capital of Đại Việt, to other countries in the Southeast Asia. Part of this work was based on the Hồng Đức Atlas (Hồng Đức Bản Đồ) developed during the time of Emperor Lê Thánh Tông (1460–1497). This encyclopedia was considered one of the oldest and rarely preserved Vietnamese documents regarding the islands. The volume "Đường từ phủ Phụng Thiên đến Chiêm Thành" (The Route to Champa from Phụng Thiên Province), remarkably described the archipelago with maps. For instance, a statement found in the volume read "In the middle of the sea, there is a long sandbank called Bãi Cát Vàng, which is approximately 400-league long and 20-league wide rising up above the sea." Bãi Cát Vàng means Hoàng Sa, Golden Sandbank.
• In the 18th century, under instructions of the Nguyễn Lords, the salvage operations officially started with the formation of Hoàng Sa and Bắc Hải Companies. Their responsibility was to carry out the mission at Hoàng Sa (Golden Sandbank) and Vạn Lý Trường Sa (Ten-thousand-league Long Sandbank) respectively. This effort was continued thereafter with successive establishments of other naval task units in accordance with strategic policies toward the two archipelagos under the Nguyễn Dynasty. Noticeably, a number of naval battles between the Dutch fleet and the Nguyễn Royal Navy occurred in 1643 and 1644. The Hoàng Sa naval task unit consisted of 70 men recruited from An Vĩnh and An Hải villages of Quảng Ngãi, while the majority of members of the Bắc Hải Company came from Bình Thuận province.

1700–1799

• In 1776, the Phủ Biên Tạp Lục (撫邊雜錄), the Miscellaneous Records on the Pacification of the Frontiers, published by Lê Quý Đôn, a philosopher, an encyclopaedist, and a Minister of Construction of the Lê Dynasty (1527–1786). These six volumes detail the Nguyễn Dynasty's territories, including the exploitation of the Paracel and Spratly Islands from 1702 onwards.
• 1777-1784, when traveling to Cochin China, Father Jean-Baptiste Grosier recorded his impression about maritime activities of the Vietnamese from Huế, Đà Nẵng, and Quảng Ngãi. The abbot Grosier wrote that the people from those ports were excellent and cleverest navigators in this Kingdom. One of their activities was making long distance sailing every year to the long chain of islands and rocks known as the Paracels to collect debris from shipwrecks.

1800–1899

• 1802-1820, under the reign of Emperor Gia Long, the territory of his kingdom included Tonkin, Cochin China, part of Cambodia, and "certain islands off the coast including the well known Paracels which bear such an evil reputation as a source of danger to navigation in the China Seas."
• In 1807, the East India Company sent Captain Daniel Ross to Cochin China to survey the Paracel Islands. Upon arriving to the kingdom, he presented a letter of introduction entrusted by the English company to the reigning king, who was believed to be Emperor Gia Long at that time. Subsequently, Captain Ross completed chartering the south coast of China in 1807, the Paracel Islands in 1808, part of the coast of Cochin China in 1809, and the coast of Palawan in 1810. Most notably, in his surveys published in 1821 under the title "(South) China Sea, Sheet I & II", the Spratly Islands was referred to as The Dangerous Ground, and was later renamed as Storm Island on the 1859 edition of the chart. Separately, in another document, the "Correct Chart of the China Sea", published by Herbert in 1758, the Paracel archipelago was described as a long group of islands and reefs extending from 13 to 17 degrees North, which approximately correspond to the geographic latitudes of the present-day Spratly and Paracel Islands, respectively. It is quite clearly that the captain himself, and probably most navigators of his time, did not differentiate the two archipelagos, but instead had delineated the present-day Spratly Islands as part of the Paracels. Captain Daniel Ross was a well known hydrographer of the Navy of Government of English Bengal and founder of the Bombay Geographical Society.
• In 1815, Emperor Gia Long ordered Phạm Quang Anh's Hoàng Sa naval task unit to sail to the islands to make surveys and report on maritime routes and draw up maps.
• In 1816, according to Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau, Emperor Gia Long officially claimed the sovereignty of the Paracel Islands, which would include the present-day Spratly archipelago. These two islands were later delineated distinctly under the reign of his successor, Emperor Minh Mạng. Chaigneau was one of the most respected advisors to Emperor Gia Long. He spent more than 30 years in Cochinchina and became the first French Consul to this kingdom in 1821.

• In 1821, the Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí (歷朝憲章類誌) published by Phan Huy Chú, a historian, an encyclopaedist, and an officer of the Ministry of Construction in the time of emperor Minh Mạng. This remarkable work was prepared in 10 years (1809–1819) and consisted of 10 volumes. One of them, the Địa Dư Chí volume, details territories of Dai Nam Kingdom. In 1838, he published the Đại Nam Thống Nhất Toàn Đồ, the Unified Đại Nam Complete Map, that distinctly delineated Vạn Lý Trường Sa (the Ten-thousand-league Long Sandbank) and Hoàng Sa (the Golden Sandbank).
• In 1833, Emperor Minh Mạng ordered Ministry of Construction to build a temple, erect steles, and plant many trees on the islands for navigation purposes.

• In 1834, Emperor Minh Mạng ordered Trương Phúc Sĩ, a naval task unit commander, accompanied by 21 men sailing to the islands to survey and draw map of Hoàng Sa.
• In 1835, Emperor Minh Mạng issued a royal ordinance to order 24 troops to the Paracel Islands. The royal ordinance has been preserved by generations of Đặng family and was publicly disclosed in early 2009.
• In 1835, the King ordered Phạm Văn Nguyên's naval task unit, accompanied by workers from Bình Định and Quãng Ngãi provinces, to build Hoàng Sa temple with a wind screen and erect steles on Bàn Than Thạch (Bàn Than Rock) of the present-day Woody Island. The mission was completed in 10 days. Notably, about 33m southwest from the erection, there was a little ancient temple where a stele engraved with the words "Vạn Lý Ba Bình" found. This inscription means Ten Thousand Leagues of Calming Waves. The date of the actual erection of the ancient temple remains unknown
• In 1836, Emperor Minh Mạng received a report from his Ministry of Construction that recommended a comprehensive survey of all the East Sea islands because of their "great strategic importance to our maritime borders." The King ordered Phạm Hữu Nhật, a royal navy commander, to erect a wooden stele on the islands. The post was engraved with the following inscription: The 17th of the reign of Minh Mạng by the royal ordinance commander of the navy Phạm Hữu Nhật came here to Hoàng Sa for reconnaissance to make topographical measurements and leave this stele as record thereof.

• In 1838, Bishop Jean-Louis Taberd published the "Latin-Annamese Dictionary". The dictionary contains the "An Nam Đại Quốc Họa Đồ" (The Great Annam Map). In the neighborhood of the present-day coordinate of the islands, words found on the map read "Paracel seu Cát Vàng" (Paracel or Cát Vàng). Cát Vàng means Hoàng Sa, Golden Sands or Golden Sandbank.
• In 1842, Hai Lu Do Chi, a historical Chinese document was written in the 22nd year of the reign of the Daoguang Emperor (1820–1850) of the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912) of China. A statement found in this book read: Wang Li Shi Tang (万里石塘) is a sandbank rising above the sea. Several thousand leagues in length, it forms a rampart on the periphery of the Kingdom of Annam. Wang Li Shi Tang means Ten-thousand-league Long Sandbank.
• In 1858, Napoleon III ordered French troops to attack Tourane, the present-day Đà Nẳng city. Subsequently, France launched more attacks and forced Cochin China and some provinces in the South to become her colonies. The French Indochina was formed in 1887 and consisted of Tonkin, Annam, Cochin China, and Cambodia.
• 1895-1896, German vessel Bellona and Japanese ship Imezi Maru sank at the islands. Chinese fishermen looted and resold them at Hainan. These countries protested but local Chinese authorities, the Governor of Liang Guang, denied any responsibilities on the ground that the Paracels were abandoned and belonged to neither country.

20th century events

• In 1930, France claimed the islands on behalf of her protected state based on the fact that Emperor Gia Long had officially taken possession of the Paracel Islands in 1816, and that Emperor Minh Mạng had sent a mission to build a temple and erect steles there in 1835.
• 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. The official reason for the Japanese invasion was that the islands were Chinese territory and Japan was at war with China.
• After World War II, Nationalist China reaffirmed its 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.
• After the fall of the nationalist regime in China in 1949, 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.
• In 1951, at the international Treaty of San Francisco conference, Vietnam's representative claimed that both the Paracels and Spratlys are territories of Vietnam, and was met with no challenge from all nations at the event. However, neither mainland China nor Taiwan participated at the conference. Separately, the Taiwan negotiated and signed its own treaty with Japan regarding the islands on April 29, 1952.
• In 1954, according to the Geneva Agreements, which was signed by a number of nations including China, Vietnam was partitioned into two states, North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The 17th parallel was used as the provisional military demarcation line, which was effectively extended into the territorial waters. The Paracel archipelago lies below this line and belongs to South Vietnam accordingly.
• In 1956, after the French's withdrawal, South Vietnam replaced the French to have control of the islands. Again, both China and Taiwan 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, 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.
• On 4 September 1958, the government of China proclaimed the breadth of its territorial sea to be twelve nautical miles which applied to all its territory, including the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Ten days later, the prime minister of North Vietnam, Phạm Văn Đồng, in his letter to Zhou Enlai stated that his government had recognized declaration of the Chinese government. Regarding this letter, there have been many arguments on its true meaning and the reason why Phạm Văn Đồng decided to send it to Zhou Enlai. One important fact is that the letter while accepting the 12 nautical mile principal for the limit of territorial waters of China, has never mentioned a word about how the territorial boundary was defined and thus leaving the dispute on South China Sea islands as its status quo for later settlement. In an interview with BBC, Dr. Balazs Szalontai provided an insight into this issue: "The general context of the Chinese declaration was the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, held in 1956, and the resulting treaties signed in 1958, such as the Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone. Understandably, the PRC government, though not being a member of the U.N., also wanted to have a say in how these issues were dealt with. Hence the Chinese declaration of September 1958. In these years, North Vietnam could hardly afford to alienate Communist comrad China. The Soviet Union did not give any substantial support to Vietnamese reunification, and neither South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem nor the U.S. government showed readiness to give consent to the holding of all-Vietnamese elections as stipulated by the Geneva Agreements. On the contrary, Diem did his best to suppress the Communist movement in the South. This is why Pham Van Dong felt it necessary to take sides with China, whose tough attitude toward the Asian policies of the U.S. offered some hope. And yet he seems to have been cautious enough to make a statement that supported only the principle that China was entitled for 12-mile territorial seas along its territory but evaded the issue of defining this territory. While the preceding Chinese statement was very specific, enumerating all the islands (including the Paracels and the Spratlys) for which the PRC laid claim, the DRV statement did not say a word about the concrete territories to which this rule was applicable. Still, it is true that in this bilateral territorial dispute between Chinese and Vietnamese interests, the DRV standpoint, more in a diplomatic than a legal sense, was incomparably closer to that of China than to that of South Vietnam". Some international scholars argued that, Pham Van Dong who represented North Vietnam at that time has no legal right to comment on a territorial part which belonged to the South Vietnam (according to Geneva Treaty). Therefore, the letter has no legal value and is considered as a diplomatic document to show the support of the government of North Vietnam to the PRC at that time.
• On 19 January 1974, the Battle of the Paracel Islands occurred between China and South Vietnam. After the battle, China gained control over the entire Paracel Islands.

21st century events

Conflict continues into the 21st century over island claims.

After Beijing's establishment of the prefecture-level city of Sansha, Vietnam and the Philippines promptly lodged diplomatic protests "strongly opposes the establishment of the so-called "Sansha City"" under Chinese jurisdiction.

In July 2012 the National Assembly of Vietnam passed a law demarcating Vietnamese sea borders to include the Spratly and Paracel islands.

Paracels in media

The movie Storm in the South Sea (南海风云) was produced in China in 1976, showing the Battle of the Paracel Islands in 1974. The movie and its theme songs were hits in China.

FIPS country code

The FIPS 10-4 country code for the Paracel Islands is PF.

See also

• Sansha
• Battle of the Paracel Islands
• Spratly Islands
• South China Sea
• South China Sea Islands

References

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14. Albin René Roussin and Ernest Mouchez, Sailing directions for the coast of Brazil, included between Maranhao and Rio Janeiro, James Imray and Son, London, 1875.
15. John Purdy, The new sailing directory for the Ethiopic or southern Atlantic ocean, R. H. Laurie, London, 1855.
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21. Myron H. Nordquist, John Norton Moore, University of Virginia, "Security flashpoints: oil, islands, sea access and military confrontation", p174-185
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45. 《南海风云》_互动百科
46. 南海风云【华语电影】 - 专辑 - 优酷视频

Notes

1. Hainan was a part of Guangdong by then.

Sources

• (1686) Do Ba Cong Dao (translated by Buu Cam), "Toan Tap Thien Nam Tu Chí Lo Do Thu ", Hong Duc Ban Do, Saigon, 1962.
• (1776) Le Quí Don (translated by Le Xuan Giao), "Phu Bien Tap Luc", Saigon, 1972.
• (1821) Phan Huy Chu (translated by Nguyen Tho Duc), "Lich Trieu Hien Chuong Loai Chí", Saigon, 1972.
• Jean Louis TABERD, "Note on the Geography of Cochinchina", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, Vol. VI, 9/1837.
• (1838) Jean Louis TABERD, "Additional Notice on the Geography of Cochinchina", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, Vol. 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.
• http://tuoitre.vn/Chinh-tri-Xa-hoi/503353/Phai-cho-dan-Trung-Quoc-cung-biet.html

External links

• Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands, by Monique Chemillier-Gendreau
• Website about Paracels and Spratly
• CIA World Factbook for Paracel Islands
• Territorial claims in the Spratly and Paracel Islands
• A Collection of Documents on Paracel and Spratly Islands by HoangSa.Org
• Paracels Islands Dispute
• A Collection of Documents on Paracel and Spratly Islands by Nguyen Thai Hoc Foundation

Template:Sansha

v t e County-level divisions of Hainan
Haikou (capital)
Prefecture-level cities	Haikou Longhua Meilan Qiongshan Xiuying Sanya Jiyang Tianya Haitang Yazhou Sansha Xisha District Zhongsha* Nansha District Danzhou v t e Danzhou Chengqu Area* Nada town Heqing town Nanfeng town Dacheng town Yaxing town Lanyang town Guangcun town Dongcheng town Binhai Area* Sandou Subdistrict Mutang town Haitou town Eman town Wangwu town Baimajing town Zhonghe town Paipu town Xingzhou town * Not a formal administrative subdivision
Provincial administered	County-level cities Wuzhishan city Qionghai city Wenchang city Wanning city Dongfang city Counties Ding'an County Tunchang County Chengmai County Lingao County Autonomous counties Baisha County Changjiang County Ledong County Lingshui County Baoting County Qiongzhong County
Township-level divisions of Hainan Politics of Hainan

• Paracel Islands
• Disputed islands
• Territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China
• Territorial disputes of the Republic of China
• Territorial disputes of Vietnam
• Disputed territories in Southeast Asia