Truong Sa and Hoang Sa belong to Vietnam.

(Baonghean) –Recently, the issue of sovereignty disputes in the East Sea has negatively affected the relations of countries in the region, including the relationship between Vietnam and China. To help readers understand more about Vietnam's sovereignty over the two archipelagos of Truong Sa and Hoang Sa, Nghe An Electronic Newspaper introduces an article to provide information on this issue.

Historical evidence

Over five centuries ago, the Vietnamese people established and exercised sovereignty over the two archipelagos of Truong Sa and Hoang Sa.

Since the reign of Le Thanh Tong (1460-1497), in the "Complete Collection of the Four Branches of the Southern Region", our ancestors drew maps of Truong Sa and Hoang Sa, at that time calling Hoang Sa "Bai Cat Vang" and Truong Sa "Van Ly Truong Sa" (the original is currently kept in Tokyo, Japan). Since the beginning of the 17th century, ancient Vietnamese geographical maps recorded Bai Cat Vang to indicate that both Hoang Sa and Truong Sa were Vietnamese territory. In the book Phu Bien Tap Luc by scholar Le Quy Don, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa were located in Quang Ngai province. The books Lich Trieu Hien Chuong Loai Chi and Hoang Viet Dia Du Chi by Phan Huy Chu (1782-1840) described the management of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa by the feudal state of Vietnam. In the national history book Dai Nam Thuc Luc of the Nguyen Dynasty, it is recorded that since 1711, Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu sent people to measure the length, width and narrowness of Truong Sa sandbank. In the Complete Map of Dai Nam (a map of Vietnam completed in 1838), Truong Sa was drawn as part of Vietnam's territory. Vietnamese feudal dynasties had conducted many geographical and resource surveys on this archipelago, with the results of the surveys recorded in Vietnamese literature and history, published since the 17th century.

Western documents confirming Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos include: The Amphitrite ship diary (1701) confirmed that the Paracels were an archipelago belonging to the country of An Nam. Le mémoire sur la Cochinchine by Jean Baptiste Chaigneau (1769-1825) written in the last years of Gia Long's reign (completed in 1820) confirmed that in 1816, King Gia Long established Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracels. An Nam Dai Quoc Hoa Do by Bishop Taberd published in 1838. A of the Geographycal Society of London (1849) GutzLaff recorded that the An Nam government established charter ships and a small military camp to collect taxes in the Paracels... Even the document Hai Ngoai Ky Su by Thich Dai San, a Chinese, also stated that Lord Nguyen sent ships to exploit products from sunken ships in Van Ly Truong Sa.

The source of documents about the Hoang Sa archipelago of the Trinh government in Bac Ha is mainly Thien Nam Tu Chi Lo Do Thu or Toan Tap An Nam Lo, dated 1686, with a map, the oldest document, clearly stating that every year the Nguyen family sent 18 warships to exploit at Bai Cat Vang. In the book Phu Bien Tap Luc, dated 1776 by Le Quy Don, an ancient document, describes in detail about Hoang Sa, there is a passage mentioning the Nguyen Lord establishing Dai Viet's sovereignty over Hoang Sa through the activities of the Hoang Sa and Bac Hai teams. The Nguyen Dynasty's Royal Records (19th century) are valuable documents currently stored at the Central Archives 1 in Hanoi, through which we find memorials and re-memorials from mandarins, ministries and other agencies, and edicts from kings on the establishment of Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago under the Nguyen Dynasty, such as the survey, measurement, drawing maps of Hoang Sa, and planting landmarks, etc. In the 5th year of Thieu Tri (1845), there was an edict to suspend the survey, then continue. In the book Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi, completed in 1882 (re-edited for the second time and printed in 1910), Hoang Sa was identified as belonging to Quang Ngai province, and continued to affirm that the activities of the Hoang Sa and Bac Hai teams were jointly managed by the Hoang Sa team... In addition, ancient maps of Vietnam from the 17th to the 19th century all depict Bai Cat Vang or Hoang Sa and Van Ly Truong Sa within the territory of Vietnam.

Surveys of all ancient maps of China drawn by the Chinese themselves before 1909 all identified Hainan Island as the southernmost point of China's southern border. After January 19, 1974, China used force to occupy Hoang Sa. They sent many archaeological teams to the islands of this archipelago and "discovered" many antiquities such as ancient coins, porcelain, carved stone objects on these islands, etc. However, these "discoveries" were of no value to verify their sovereignty, while they themselves discovered on the north side of the "Hoang Sa Tu" temple on Vinh Hung Island, namely Phu Lam Island (Ile Boisée), which is clear evidence of the establishment of Vietnam's sovereignty.

In short, Vietnam has a very clear system of historical documents of all kinds to affirm its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos. These documents all prove that Vietnam's sovereignty has appeared continuously under the Dai Viet period, from the period of the North-South conflict to the Tay Son period, and then to the Nguyen Dynasty (from 1802-1945). With so many official historical documents, it is enough to affirm that the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos belong to Vietnam's sovereignty.

Exercising sovereignty through Vietnamese dynasties

Hoang Sa archipelago (consisting of more than 30 islands), located at latitude 15o45' to 17o15' North, longitude 111o to 113o East, about 120 nautical miles from Ly Son island, Quang Ngai; area of ​​about 15,000km2. Truong Sa archipelago (consisting of more than 100 rocky islands, coral reefs, shoals, and reefs scattered across the sea), located at latitude 6o50' to 12o North, longitude 111o3' to 117o2' East, from West to East about 350 nautical miles, from North to South 360 nautical miles, with an area of ​​about 180,000km2, the permanent surface area is about 10km2.², 248 nautical miles from the coast of Khanh Hoa province.

After the Nguyen Dynasty signed a treaty with France, the French government in Indochina, as a protectorate, represented Vietnam's interests in international affairs and exercised sovereignty over the archipelago on behalf of Vietnam.

In 1887, France and the Qing Dynasty signed a convention to delineate the land and sea borders between Vietnam and China, and the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos belonged to Vietnam.

On June 15, 1938, Governor-General of Indochina I.Brévie signed Decree No. 156-SC, deciding on the administrative organization of the Hoang Sa archipelago under Thua Thien province.

On December 21, 1933, Governor Krautheimer signed Decree No. 4702-CP, merging the Truong Sa archipelago into Ba Ria province.

On October 14, 1950, the French Government officially handed over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos to the Bao Dai government for management. On that day, the Prime Minister of the Central region, General Phan Van Giao, personally presided over the reception ceremony held on Hoang Sa island.

In September 1951, at the San Francisco Conference, Prime Minister Bao Dai - Head of the Vietnamese delegation, Mr. Tran Van Huu, declared Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos after Japan returned all the territories it had occupied during World War II. At the conference, the 51 participating countries had no objections.

Since July 20, 1954, the Geneva Agreement took effect, Vietnam was divided in half by the 17th parallel, the Truong Sa archipelago south of the 17th parallel was under the sovereignty of the Government of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN).

When the French expeditionary force disembarked in Hai Phong and withdrew from Vietnam in 1956, when the French had just handed over the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa to the Republic of Vietnam government in Saigon, taking advantage of the "twilight and darkness", China sent troops to occupy Phu Lam island in the east of Hoang Sa, forcing the Saigon army to retreat to the west of Hoang Sa. On August 22, 1956, the Republic of Vietnam Navy took over Truong Sa island, held a flag-raising ceremony, and erected a stone pillar to mark sovereignty.

On October 22, 1956, the Government of the Republic of Vietnam declared Truong Sa under Phuoc Tuy province (currently Truong Sa is a district of Khanh Hoa province).

The Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos are the territories of Vietnam. In order to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity in general and the sea and islands in particular, the State and people of Vietnam are doing and will do their utmost in the legal struggle at all international legal forums, resolutely protecting the territorial integrity of our sacred Fatherland.

Mai Thuan Ngon