The current status of territorial sovereignty disputes over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa

(Baonghean.vn) -Question 32. What is the current status of territorial sovereignty disputes and the occupation positions of the disputing parties regarding the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos under Vietnam's sovereignty?

Reply:

1. For the Paracel Islands

China jumped into the territorial sovereignty dispute with Vietnam in the early 20th century, starting with the event when Admiral Ly Chuan commanded 3 gunboats to the Hoang Sa archipelago, made a lightning landing on Phu Lam island in 1909, and then had to withdraw.retreat because of the presence of the French expeditionary army as a force assigned by the French government, representing the Vietnamese state, to protect and manage this archipelago.

Map of military bases on the Spratly Islands

In 1946, taking advantage of the disarmament of the defeated Japanese army, the Republic of China government sent troops to occupy the eastern island group of the Paracel Islands. When the Republic of China was expelled from mainland China, they had to withdraw all the troops occupying the Paracel Islands.

In 1956, taking advantage of the situation where the French army had to withdraw from Indochina according to the provisions of the Geneva Agreement and while the South Vietnamese government had not yet taken over the Paracel Islands, the People's Republic of China sent troops to occupy the eastern group of the Paracel Islands.

In January 1974, taking advantage of the collapse of the ARVN and the US expeditionary force being forced to withdraw from South Vietnam, the People's Republic of China mobilized its military forces to invade the western islands of the Paracel Islands, which were being held by the ARVN.

All of the above-mentioned acts of military invasion by the People's Republic of China were met with fierce resistance from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and were strongly protested by the Government of the Republic of Vietnam, at that time as the subject in international relations, representing the State of Vietnam managing the territory of South Vietnam according to the provisions of the 1954 Geneva Agreement, on the diplomatic and public opinion fronts.

2. For the Spratly Islands

a. China jumped into the sovereignty dispute over the Spratly Islands since the 1930s, starting with a diplomatic note from the Chinese Ambassador in Paris sent to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirming that "the Spratly Islands are part of Chinese territory".

In 1946, the Republic of China army (then in mainland China) invaded Itu Aba Island. In 1956, the Republic of China army in Taiwan recaptured Itu Aba Island.

In 1988, the People's Republic of China mobilized forces to occupy six positions, which were shoals located northwest of Truong Sa, and made great efforts to build, upgrade, and turn these shoals into solid military bases, like fortresses at sea.

In 1995, the People's Republic of China mobilized its army to occupy Van Khanh Reef, located in the southeast of the Truong Sa archipelago. Currently, they are using force to surround and occupy Co May Shoal, located in the east, close to Van Khanh Reef, part of Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago.

Thus, the total number of islands, rocks, and shoals that China (including Taiwan) has used force to occupy in the Spratly Islands so far is 9. Taiwan occupies Itu Aba Island, the largest island in the Spratly Islands, and expanded an additional coral reef.

b. The Philippines began to jump into the sovereignty dispute over the Spratly Islands with the event on May 17, 1951, when the President of the Philippines declared that the islands of the Spratly Islands must belong to the nearest territory of the Philippines. In a press conference on May 19, 1956, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines affirmed that the Spratly Islands group, including Itu Aba and Spratly Islands, must belong to the Philippines because they are located closest to the Philippines.

From 1971 to 1973, the Philippines sent troops to occupy 5 islands; in 1977 - 1978, it occupied 2 more islands; in 1979, the Decree of President Marcos signed on June 11, 1979, incorporated the entire Spratly archipelago, except for Spratly Island, into one administrative unit, called Kalayaan, belonging to Philippine territory. In 1980, the Philippines occupied another island located south of Spratly, that is Co do Island... Up to now, the Philippines has occupied 10 locations in this archipelago, including 7 islands, coral reefs and 3 shoals.

shallow, coral reef.

c. Malaysia started with the incident of the Malaysian Embassy in Saigon on February 3, 1971 sending a diplomatic note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Vietnam asking whether the Truong Sa archipelago, currently belonging to the Republic of Morac Songhrati Mead, belonged to the territory of the Republic of Vietnam or whether the Republic of Vietnam had a claim to that archipelago? On April 20, 1971, the government of the Republic of Vietnam replied that the Truong Sa archipelago belonged to the territory of Vietnam, any violation of Vietnam's sovereignty in this archipelago was considered a violation of international law.

In December 1979, the Malaysian Government published a map incorporating into Malaysian territory the area south of Truong Sa, including An Bang and Thuyen Chai islands which were once occupied by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.

In 1983 - 1984, Malaysia sent troops to occupy 3 shoals in the South of Truong Sa: Hoa Lau, Kieu Ngua, Ky Van. In 1988, they occupied 2 more shoals: En Dat and Tham Hiem... Up to now, the number of Malaysian military stations has reached 7 points located in the South of Truong Sa archipelago, all of which are coral reefs.

d. Although Brunei is considered a claimant in the Spratly Islands, it does not actually occupy any specific location. Its claim is that the maritime boundary and continental shelf shown on the map overlaps the southern part of the Spratly Islands.

According to Q&A on Vietnam's Law of the Sea

(To be continued)