Vietnam, Territoriality and the South China Sea: Paracel and Spratly Islands 9781138321182, 9780429452826

Table of contents :
Cover
Half Title
Series
Title
Copyright
Contents
List of illustrations
Foreword
1 Introduction: defining the topic and summarizing the contents of the book
2 Historical data
2.1 Vietnamese official historical records
2.1.1 The period from the beginning of the XVII century to the beginning of the XIX century (The Era of the Lê Emperors, Trịnh Lords, Nguyễn Lords, Tây Sơn)
2.1.2 The period from 1802 to 1909 (Nguyễn Dynasty)
2.2 Western and Chinese documents
2.2.1 Pre-1909 Western documents
2.2.2 Pre-1909 Chinese documents
3 Legal data
3.1 Monographic materials
3.1.1 Red-marked royally reviewed records and Government documents
3.1.2 Codification books and laws of the royal court
3.2 Cartographic materials
3.2.1 Vietnamese gazetteers
3.2.2 Chinese maps
4 Scientific and technical data
4.1 Western maps of Paracel and Spratly Islands
4.2 Vietnamese marine hydrological measurements and topographic map drawings of Paracel and Spratly Islands
5 Vietnam’s continuous affirmation of sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands
5.1 Pre-1909 public administration by the Vietnamese Governments
5.1.1 Public administration (by the Nguyễn Dynasty)
5.1.2 Activities of the Paracel Islands and North Sea militias
5.1.3 Activities of the Nguyễn Dynasty’s Royal Navy
5.1.3.1 Activities of planting border markers and erecting sovereignty steles on the Paracel and Spratly Islands
5.1.3.2 Construction of temples, shrines, and planting trees in the Paracel and Spratly Islands
5.2 Post-1909 continuous affirmation of sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands by successive Governments of Vietnam
5.2.1 Period of French colonial administration
5.2.2 Period of temporary division of Vietnam
5.2.3 Period of reunified Vietnam
6 Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands within the international community
6.1 The 1951 San Francisco Conference
6.2 Collateral issues
6.2.1 The East Sea
6.2.2 Difficulties with the People’s Republic of China
6.2.2.1 Before the reunification of Vietnam
6.2.2.2 After the reunification of Vietnam
6.2.3 Association of South East Asian Nations’ COC (Code of Conduct) and DOC (Declaration on Code of Conduct)
6.2.4 United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea and Vietnam’s Law of the Sea
6.3 Conclusion
Bibliography
List of Old Vietnamese and Chinese documents
Appendix 1: Chronology
Appendix 2: Texts
Appendix 3: The Law of the Sea of Vietnam
Index

Citation preview

Vietnam, Territoriality and the South China Sea

The conflict in the South China Sea, especially the sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands, is of international interest and significance. Territorial claims from various countries impact maritime freedom and result in the exploitation of natural resources in either international waters or other claimant countries’ exclusive economic zones. This book analyses Vietnam’s claim of sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands. Based on a book originally published in Vietnamese, the author offers a historical analysis to examine the sovereignty of the islands from multiple perspectives. Written in English on the topic and based on rigorous analysis of historical, legal and technical evidence, the book makes the case for Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands. It also provides an investigation of how Vietnam has affirmed its claim of sovereignty over the islands and a discussion of how Vietnam’s claim has been received by the international community, particularly by China. The book touches on a very sensitive, topical issue of international importance with wide-ranging and serious consequences. It will be of interest to academics in the fields of Asian security studies and South East Asian history and politics. Hãn Nguyên Nguyễn Nhã, Lecturer, Saigon University, Vietnam, is founder of the Hãn Nguyên Nguyễn Nhã Foundation. Vinh-The Lam is Librarian Emeritus, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Routledge Security in Asia Series

Maritime Security in Southeast Asia Edited by Kwa Chong Guan and John K. Skogan China’s Security Interests in the 21st Century Russell Ong China’s Rise – Threat or Opportunity? Edited by Herbert S. Yee India and the South Asian Strategic Triangle Ashok Kapur Southeast Asia and the Rise of China The Search for Security Ian Storey China’s Strategic Competition with the United States Russell Ong The Origins of U.S. Policy in the East China Sea Islands Dispute Okinawa’s Reversion and the Senkaku Islands Robert D. Eldridge Arming Asia Technonationalism and its Impact on Local Defense Industries Richard A. Bitzinger The China-Japan Conflict over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands Useful Rivalry Anna Costa Vietnam, Territoriality and the South China Sea Paracel and Spratly Islands Hãn Nguyên Nguyễn Nhã, translated and edited by Vinh-The Lam

Vietnam, Territoriality and the South China Sea Paracel and Spratly Islands

Hãn Nguyên Nguyễn Nhã Translated and edited by Vinh-The Lam

First published 2019 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Hãn Nguyên Nguyễn Nhã and Vinh-The Lam The right of Hãn Nguyên Nguyễn Nhã and Vinh-The Lam to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-1-138-32118-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-45282-6 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC

Contents

Contents

List of illustrations Foreword by Carlyle A. Thayer Contents

vii viii

1

Introduction: defining the topic and summarizing the contents of the book

1

2

Historical data

7

2.1  Vietnamese official historical records  7 2.1.1  The period from the beginning of the XVII century to the beginning of the XIX century (The Era of the Lê Emperors, Trịnh Lords, Nguyễn Lords, Tây Sơn)  8 2.1.2  The period from 1802 to 1909 (Nguyễn Dynasty)  12 2.2  Western and Chinese documents  20 2.2.1  Pre-1909 Western documents  20 2.2.2  Pre-1909 Chinese documents  29 3

Legal data

35

3.1  Monographic materials  35 3.1.1  Red-marked royally reviewed records and Government documents  35 3.1.2  Codification books and laws of the royal court  49 3.2  Cartographic materials  54 3.2.1  Vietnamese gazetteers  54 3.2.2  Chinese maps  55 4

Scientific and technical data 4.1  Western maps of Paracel and Spratly Islands  59 4.2  Vietnamese marine hydrological measurements and topographic map drawings of Paracel and Spratly Islands  62

59

vi  Contents 5

Vietnam’s continuous affirmation of sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands

69

5.1  Pre-1909 public administration by the Vietnamese Governments  69 5.1.1  Public administration (by the Nguyễn Dynasty)  69 5.1.2  Activities of the Paracel Islands and North Sea militias  71 5.1.3  Activities of the Nguyễn Dynasty’s Royal Navy  84 5.1.3.1  Activities of planting border markers and erecting sovereignty steles on the Paracel and Spratly Islands  84 5.1.3.2  Construction of temples, shrines, and planting trees in the Paracel and Spratly Islands  88 5.2  Post-1909 continuous affirmation of sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands by successive Governments of Vietnam  88 5.2.1  Period of French colonial administration  88 5.2.2  Period of temporary division of Vietnam  97 5.2.3  Period of reunified Vietnam  98 6

Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands within the international community

101

6.1  The 1951 San Francisco Conference  101 6.2  Collateral issues  101 6.2.1  The East Sea  101 6.2.2  Difficulties with the People’s Republic of China  106 6.2.2.1  Before the reunification of Vietnam  106 6.2.2.2  After the reunification of Vietnam  108 6.2.3  Association of South East Asian Nations’ COC (Code of Conduct) and DOC (Declaration on Code of Conduct)  112 6.2.4  United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea and Vietnam’s Law of the Sea  114 6.3  Conclusion  114 Bibliography List of Old Vietnamese and Chinese documents Appendix 1: Chronology Appendix 2: Texts Appendix 3: The Law of the Sea of Vietnam Index

116 131 133 145 163 183

Illustrations

List of IllustrationsList of Illustrations

1 Map of the Great Annam in the Dictionarium Latino-Anamiticum62 2 P  rofile and parts of sail-boat used in Hoàng Sa Mission (beginning of XVII century) 78 3 Sail-boat and tools used in Hoàng Sa Mission (beginning of XVII century) 78 4 Châu Bản 13-7-MM16 (1835), page 1 146 5 Châu Bản 13-7-MM16 (1835), page 2 147 6 Châu Bản 13-7-MM16 (1835), page 3 148 7 Châu Bản 13-7-MM16 (1835), page 4 149 8 Châu Bản 19-7-MM19 (1838), page 1 150 9 Châu Bản 19-7-MM19 (1838), page 2 151 10 Châu Bản 19-7-MM19 (1838), page 3 152 11 Order of 15-4-MM15 (1834), page 1 154 12 Order of 15-4-MM15 (1834), page 2 155 13 Order of 15-4-MM15 (1834), page 3 156 14 Order of 15-4-MM15 (1834), page 4 157 15 Decree-Law No. 3282 of May 5, 1939 by the Governor-General of Cochinchina, page 1 160 16 Decree-Law No. 3282 of May 5, 1939 by the Governor-General of Cochinchina, page 2 161

Foreword

ForewordForeword

Not a week passes when a Chinese government official claims that China has “indisputable sovereignty” over South China Sea and that China was the first country “to discover, name and administer” all the islands, rocks and other features within its “nine-dash line.” China’s statements are entirely self-serving because they ignore the historical experiences and claims of other people who inhabited the littoral area of the South China Sea. Dr. Nguyễn Nhã’s study, Evidence of Vietnam’s Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands, now published under title Vietnam, Territoriality and the South China Sea: Paracel and Spratly Islands, lets historical facts speak to the truth of the matter. Dr. Nhã has devoted his entire academic life to researching archival and other materials on the South China Sea including documents from the period of the Nguyen Lords, Tay Son, Nguyen Dynasty, the French colonial era and the modern period. Dr. Nhã brings to life the official documents written in Nôm script, Chinese characters, French and other European languages. Through his meticulous historical research readers will learn that Vietnam’s rulers asserted administrative control over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes from the XVII century to the XIX century. This took the form of regular voyages initially by the Hoàng Sa and Bac Hai Brigades and subsequently by the Vietnam Royal Navy to the Paracel and Spratly Islands to survey, map, plant trees, build temples and most importantly to erect sovereignty markers over these features. Dr. Nhã’s research lets facts speak to historical truth and lays an unassailable foundation for Vietnam’s claim to sovereignty. Dr. Nhã’s research also embraces the French colonial and post-colonial eras. After Vietnam was partitioned in 1954, France turned over control of the Paracel and Spratly Islands to the Republic of Vietnam (RVN). Dr. Nhã’s research provides important details of the administrative arrangements undertaken by the RVN to assert sovereignty over the offshore islands. When Vietnam was reunified and renamed the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976, the new state assumed the international legal duties and obligations of previous governments. Dr. Nhã’s study is the life-long work of a private scholar of high academic integrity. Over the course of recent years, I  have met Dr. Nhã at international conferences and have never ceased learning something new about Vietnam’s sovereignty over the South China Sea. Now Dr. Nhã’s important work will be brought

Foreword  ix to a global audience through its translation into English. I commend this work to all students, scholars, concerned citizens, policy-makers and government officials who wish to understand sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea and their resolution by peaceful means in accord with international law. Carlyle A. Thayer Emeritus Professor, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia March 28, 2016

1 Introduction

IntroductionIntroduction

Defining the topic and summarizing the contents of the book

In 1909, exercising international law practiced at the end of the XIX century, the Government of Guangdong (China) declared that the Paracels were res nullius (i.e. nobody’s property), and began taking actions to claim sovereignty in Western style, i.e. sending its warships to these islands, firing a 21-gun salute, landing and planting its flag. After the Second World War, the United Nations was created. The UN Charter and subsequent resolutions all forbid the parties involving in any conflict of territories and islands to use force and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provides very clear regulations on territorial waters, exclusive economic zones and overlapping areas between countries. The 1888 Declaration of the Lausanne Institute of International Law emphasized: “every occupation that wants to make nominal sovereignty . . . must be true, i.e. real, not nominal.” The real establishment of territorial sovereignty must be conducted by the state. Private individuals cannot establish territorial sovereignty because they do not have international legal status, which exists only between nations. The occupation must be conducted peacefully on a derelict territory (res nullius) or on a territory abandoned by a country that had previously owned it (derelicto). The use of force to occupy the territory is unlawful. The occupying state must enforce its sovereignty in the necessary levels, at least appropriate with the natural conditions and population of that territory. Although on September  10, 1919, the world powers at that time signed the Saint Germain Convention to annul the 1885 Treaty of Berlin, citing the fact that there was no more derelict territory and thus the principle of real occupation had no more legal effect, but because of the logic of this principle, international jurists still use it in their resolution of conflicts of sovereignty over the islands. Examples are the decision of the La Haye International Tribunal in April 1928 on the conflict over Palmas Island between the United States and the Netherlands, and the decision of the United Nations International Tribunal in November 1953 on the conflict over the Minquiers and Écrehous Islands between England and France. The work Những bằng chứng về chủ quyền của Việt Nam đối với hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa  & Trường Sa (Evidence of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands, original Vietnamese version of this book), published in 2013 by the Giáo Dục Việt Nam Publishing House, presented very clearly all evidence

2  Introduction of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands extracted from the official historical records and the gazetteers of the Lê Dynasty such as Ðại Việt sử ký tục biên (Continuous chronicles of the Great Viet) or of the Nguỵen Dynasty such as Ðại Nam thực lục tiền biên (Pre-Nguyễn Dynasty chronicles of the Great Nam) and Ðại Nam thực lục chính biên (Main parts of chronicles of the Great Nam) [Nam was short for Vietnam, which had become the official name of the country under the first emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty, Emperor Gia Long (1802–1819), and was changed to Đai Nam under the reign of his son and successor, Emperor Minh Mạng (1820–1840)] as well as famous works by historians such as Lê Quý Ðôn and Phan Huy Chú. The proofs with very high international legal value, which most countries in the conflict of sovereignty over these two archipelagos do not have, are the “châu bản” (red-marked royally reviewed records) of the Nguyễn Dynasty, which include reports from madarins of various ministries submitted to the emperors, with red-marked instructions from the latter, or texts from local authorities regarding the sending of officials to the islands in order to affirm Vietnam’s sovereignty by erecting border markers and steles, and codification books of the Vietnamese royal court like the Khâm Ðịnh Ðại Nam hội điển sự lệ (Imperially ordered codification book of the Great Nam) mentioning the regulated annual mission of erecting border markers. Like other Asian countries under Chinese influence (Japan, Korea), Vietnam also had a special script of its own called chữ Nôm (Nôm characters), but only under Emperor Quang Trung’s reign (of the Tây Sơn Dynasty), chữ Nôm was used in official government texts as well as in some famous classical works such as Truyện Kiều (The story of Kiều) and Chinh phụ ngâm (Ballad of the soldier’s wife). All other Dynasties, including Nguyễn Dynasty, used Chinese characters in official historical records, or royal-marked, royally reviewed records, or government documents. The evidences of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands were derived not only from Vietnamese government documents but also from Western country documents, which stated clearly that these islands belonged to the successive governments of “An Nam.” All these Western or Chinese documents were presented in their original texts. In addition, there are maps including administrative maps created by the governments. Beside the aforementioned documents in original texts, there are several research studies by respected scholars mentioning the governmental exploitation of local products found on the islands by the Hoàng Sa Militia aka the North Sea Militia. These studies also recounted the missions of the Nguyễn Dynasty’s Royal Navy, in which stele erection, well digging, tree plantings, construction of “miếu Hoàng Sa Tự” (Hoàng Sa Temple) were carried out on these islands. It is worth noting that, in the old days, like the Western seafarers, the Vietnamese people considered Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa as one entity, one strip of islands, rocks, and sands stretching from North to South called Cát Vàng (in Nôm characters) or Hoàng Sa (in Chinese characters) [meaning Yellow Sands], or Vạn Lý Trường Sa (in Chinese characters).

Introduction  3 To make it fit to a publication overseas, although keeping all the contents of the Vietnamese edition published in Vietnam, the author, with the assistance from the translator, has rearranged the chapters for this English edition. Beside Chapter 1 giving an introduction, this book comprises five chapters, a conclusion, notes, a bibliography and three appendices (Chronology, Texts and Vietnam’s Law of the Sea). Following are summaries of the chapters: Chapter 2: This chapter provides undeniable historical evidence of Vietnam’s sovereignty over these islands. The historical evidence came from different sources: Vietnamese, Western, and even Chinese. The Vietnamese sources included not only official historical books but also important works by famous authors published during the Lê Dynasty (XVII and XVIII centuries) and Nguyễn Dynasty (XIX century), such as the following: • • • •

Ðại Việt sử ký tục biên (Continuous chronicles of the Great Viet), published in 1775. Phủ biên tạp lục (Miscellaneous writings about the pacified frontier) by Lê Quý Ðôn, published in 1776. Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí (Compilation of works of all kinds through successive dynasties) by Phan Huy Chú, published in 1821. Ðại Nam thực lục tiền biên and Ðại Nam thực lục chính biên.

All these documents provided detailed descriptions of the Paracel Islands and recounted official activities of the Hoàng Sa Team as well as of the Nguyễn Dynasty’s Royal Navy in affirming and exercising Vietnam’s sovereignty over these islands. In addition to Vietnamese documents, pre-1816 Western documents (memoirs, travel diaries, books, encyclopaedias, geographical dictionaries, etc.) in English, French, Italian and Portuguese languages, all mentioned clearly that the Paracel Islands belonged to Ðàng Trong (term used for Southern part of Vietnam during the XVII and XVIII centuries) The XVII-century book by Thích Ðại Sán, a Chinese monk, entitled Hải ngoại ký sự (Report from overseas), published in 1696, also mentioned very clearly that the Nguyễn Lords exercised sovereignty over the Paracel Islands. Chapter 3: This chapter presents legal evidence of Vietnam’s sovereignty over these two archipelagos. The legal evidence came from both Vietnamese and Chinese sources. The Vietnamese legal documents presented are from two sources: the “Châu bản” (red-marked, royally reviewed records) and the codification books and laws of the royal court. The “Châu bản” of the Nguyễn Dynasty are unique documents (mostly government ministry documents or submitted reports from local officials) containing legally binding instructions by the Emperors regarding the official activities of exploration, measurement, map drawing, planting of sovereignty makers, etc. carried out on these islands. Among the codification books, the most important was the Khâm Ðịnh Ðại Nam hội điển sự lệ, which consisted

4  Introduction of 262 volumes (for a total of 8,000 pages) and published in 1851. This important codification book legally established annual tours of duty for the Hoàng Sa Team and the Royal Navy on these islands. This chapter also provides a listing of Vietnamese and Chinese gazetteers and maps, which demonstrated not only Vietnam’s sovereignty over these two archipelagos but also that these islands never belonged to China. Chapter 4: This chapter provides scientific and technical data demonstrating Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel ad Spratly Islands. The first part of the chapter gives detailed information regarding voyage diaries, travel charts and maps provided by Western navigators (Portuguese, Dutch, English and French) of the XVII, XVIII, and XIX centuries, containing clear notes on Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel Islands. The most important of piece of evidence was the An Nam Đại Quốc họa đồ (Map of the Great Annam), attached at the end of the Dictionarium Latino-Anamiticum, by Bishop J.L. Taberd, and published in 1838. The second part of this chapter describes in details several efforts by the Nguyễn Dynasty of surveying and map drawing of these islands in its official activities to affirm its sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. Chapter 5: This chapter provides evidence of Vietnam’s continuous affirmation of sovereignty over these islands from the beginning of the XIX century (under the Nguyễn Dynasty) up to the present day: •

•

•

•

During the Nguyễn Dynasty: details of the administrative management of the islands by local authorities (provincial governments of either Quảng Ngãi or Quảng Nam); details of annual activities of the Hoàng Sa Team (even description of sail-boats and tools used by the Team during its missions); and details of the Royal Navy’s missions to the islands: planting border markers, erecting sovereignty steles, constructing temples and shrines and planting of trees. Under French administration: re-affirming sovereignty on behalf of the Annam Emperors on many occasions; the most important event being the reaffirmation of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the island by Prime Minister Trần Văn Hữu at the 1951 International Conference in San Francisco (presented in detail in Chapter 6). During the temporary division of Vietnam: Republic of Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Vũ Văn Mẫu’s declaration of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the islands in 1956; decree-laws by the President of the Republic of Vietnam in 1961 and 1973 giving administrative control of the islands to the Provinces of Quảng Nam (for Paracel Islands) and Phước Tuy (for Spratly Islands). After the official and legal reunification of Vietnam, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in fact inherited the sovereignty over these islands already reaffirmed by the Republic of Vietnam.

Chapter 6: This chapter provides the readers with up-to-date information regarding Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands within the

Introduction 5 international community. In the first part of the chapter, some information regarding the 1951 San Francisco International Conference was given. The second and more important part of the chapter provides in-depth knowledge of the following issues: • • •

Importance of the East Sea: not only for Vietnam but also for the region (South East Asia) in terms of geographical, political and economic significance Difficulties created by Chinese aggressive behaviour that Vietnam and the countries of the region have to encounter Diplomatic and international relations positions of the countries of the region as a collectivity through the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Readers should also pay a close attention to the three appendices that provide a wealth of additional valuable chronological, textual, graphical and testimonial data on the main topic of the book. With such contents of its chapters, this book presents an effort to convey to the readers the following concrete historical truths: The first truth is that, before 1909 when the conflict of sovereignty began, Vietnam was the only country whose official historical records, codification books and geographical gazetteers all mentioned clearly the affirmation and exercising of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. The Hoàng Sa Team (being active in the North and having control over the North Sea Team in the South) were the militia sent by the Nguyễn Lords (and after that by the Tây Sơn and Nguyễn Dynasties) to exploit the sea resources at Paracel Islands. That practice was the origin of the Lễ khao lề thế lính Hoàng Sa (live funeral ­service for the Hoàng Sa soldiers), which is now still celebrated in district-island Lý Sơn, Province of Quảng Ngãi. Beginning in 1816, under the Nguyễn Dynasty, the Royal Navy was sent to the islands to plant border markers, to erect sovereignty steles, to dig wells, to plant trees, to construct temples and shrines (Hoàng Sa Shrine for example). All of these activities were recorded in the Khâm Ðịnh Ðại Nam hội điển sự lệ, vols. 207 and 221. The national geographical gazetteer Ðại Nam nhất thống chí (Gazetteer of the Unified Great Nam), completed in 1882 and revised and printed in 1910, contained paragraphs indicating that Paracel Islands belonged to the Province of Quảng Ngãi and re-affirming activities of the Hoàng Sa and North Sea Teams. The second truth is that Vietnam was also the unique country where official documents from central government (e.g. châu bản) to local authorities (e.g. reports of provincial officials submitted to the royal court) were found to contain clear mentions of the various kinds of activities carried out to affirm and exercise Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands, such as: explorations, measurements, map drawing, planting border markers, erecting sovereignty steles, etc. The third truth is there are plenty of pre-XIX-century Western documents of all kinds (voyage diaries, travel charts, books, geographical dictionaries, maps, etc.)

6  Introduction and in different languages (Portuguese, Italian, English and French), which affirm the establishment and exercising sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands by successive Vietnamese dynasties. Even pre-1909 Chinese documents and maps have never recorded Paracel and Spratly Islands as parts of Chinese territory. All Chinese maps confirmed that Hainan Island was the southernmost point of Chinese territory. Historical truth is unique. But history has also taught us that any historical truth can be twisted to serve people’s own goals leading to political conflicts between nations and even to wars. This book with these aforementioned chapters not only provides accurate information leading to the historical truth but also issues a message of righteousness absolutely necessary to establish and preserve a peaceful order of the world.

2 Historical data

Historical dataHistorical data

In 1909, the Government of Guangdong (China) declared that the Paracels1 or the Hoàng Sa (i.e. Golden Sand) archipelago of Vietnam were res nullius (i.e. nobody’s property) and began taking actions to claim sovereignty over these islands. In reality, at that point in time, the two Paracel and Spratly archipelagos were no longer res nullius because from the XVII century to the XIX century the Government of Vietnam had already exercised its sovereignty over them.

2.1  Vietnamese official historical records Almost all materials and documents of the Government of Vietnam through the ages provide direct demonstration of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands. These materials appeared continuously from the beginning of the era of the Nguyễn Lords (beginning of the XVII century), through the era of the Tây Sơn to the beginning of the Nguyễn Dynasty with the activities of the Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands) militia as well as the assertion of administrative authority of the Government of Vietnam (under Emperor Gia Long) and the activities of the Vietnamese royal navy (under Emperors Gia Long, Minh Mạng, Thiệu Trị). The Đại Nam nhất thống chí (which started its compilation in 1865, was completed in 1882 and printed and distributed in 1910) continued to ascertain that the Paracel archipelago belonged to the Vietnamese waters. If we do not count the materials usually referred to by China, those produced by travellers going through the Paracel Islands area, such as the Vọng kiến vạn lý Tràng Sa (Recalling when visiting ten thousand miles of long sandbanks) in Đông hành thi thuyết thảo (Eastbound travel verses) by Lý Văn Phức on his way to the Philippines (1832), Vietnam possesses around 30 documents of all kinds, continuously produced throughout the centuries, from the beginning of the XVII century to the time Vietnam was invaded, occupied and came under French domination, that affirmed very clearly Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands.

8  Historical data 2.1.1 The period from the beginning of the XVII century to the beginning of the XIX century (The Era of the Lê Emperors, Trịnh Lords, Nguyễn Lords, Tây Sơn) Official documents of the Government of Vietnam, of the Vietnamese royal courts, through the times of the Lê-Trịnh with Đại Việt sử kí tục biên and the times of the Nguyễn Dynasty with several documents such as Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên, Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Hoàng Việt địa dư chí (Royal Viet geographical gazetteer), Đại Nam nhất thống chí, etc. all recorded very clearly Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands. Đại Việt sử kí tục biên2 was prepared by the court historians of the Lê-Trịnh era following order from Lord Trịnh Sâm in 1775, during the reign of Emperor Lê Hiển Tông, under the direction of Nguyễn Hoán, Lê Quý Đôn and Vũ Miên. This work recounted in detail the activities of the Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands) militia, which also supervised the Bắc Hải (North Sea) team, with the following paragraph: The Hoàng Sa militia, consisted of 70 persons selected from An Vĩnh village,3 took turn to go to Paracel Islands to dive and search for the area’s own distinct flora and fauna. Every year, the team departed in the third month, bringing with them 6-month food supply, arriving in the islands after a voyage of three days and three nights. In addition to the official documents of the government, there were also documents produced by the mandarins. For example: Lê Quý Đôn has written Phủ biên tạp lục (1776), after he was nominated Hiệp Trấn (Co-Governor) by Lord Trịnh Sâm (1739–1782) in 1775 and sent to Phú Xuân to pacify and govern the two frontier provinces of Thuận Hóa and Quảng Nam, which the Trịnh Lords had just conquered from the Nguyễn Lords in 1774. Phủ biên tạp lục provided the most detailed description of the Paracel Islands. This work was consisted of six volumes; Volume 2 contained two paragraphs mentioning the Nguyễn Lords’ establishing Đại Việt’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands as follows: The first paragraph (volume 2, sheets 78b–79a): Out of the estuary near the shore off An Vĩnh village, Bình Sơn district, Quảng Nghĩa province there was an island called Cù lao Ré4 (Ré Island). This island’s width was more than 30 miles. In the old days, the people from Tứ Chính ward came to grow legumes in the fields. From the shore, it took 4 canh (1 canh = 2 hours) for a row boat to reach Cù lao Ré. Beyond the Ré Island was another island used to be called Đại Trường Sa (Great Spratly Island), where many sea products were collected and distributed for sale in many places. That’s why the government has established a unit called đội Hoàng Sa (Paracel Island militia) to go there and collect these sea products. The voyage to Đại Trường Sa took three days, thus this island was already quite close to the Bắc Hải (North Sea) area.

Historical data  9 The second paragraph (Volume 2, sheets 82b–85a): The Province of Quảng Nghĩa, District of Bình Sơn had a village called An Vĩnh situated close to the shore. Offshore in the northeast there were many small islands totalling more than 130. The voyage by boat between them took from a few canh to one day. On the islands there were fresh water springs. On the main island of the Paracel archipelago, there was also a beach of yellow sands, more than 20 miles [this is Chinese mile, or li, about 500 metres or half a kilometre] long, large and flat, and with limpid water. The island also had numerous swallow’s nests; birds of different species in the tens of thousands which were not scared away by the presence of human beings. On the beach there were numerous strange things. One kind of striped cochleae called elephant-ear cochleae as large as a floor mat, with grains as big as the finger heads, but opaque, not lustrous like pearl; its shell could be worn as a shield, and could be burned into lime to be used in house building. There were also turbininae, the shell of which could be used to make mosaic items; there were also babylonia areolata. All of the conches could be salted and edible when cooked. The hawksbill sea turtle eretmochelys imbricata were very big; another smaller species was called hải ba or trắng bông, their tortoiseshells were thinner and could be used to make mosaic items, and their eggs, as big as the thumb heads, could be salted and edible. There were also sea cucumbers, swimming freely along the beach. They could be cleaned with lime, their intestines removed and dried by the sun. They could be eaten after having them submerged in the broth made from small crabs, then thoroughly cleaned, and cooked with shrimp or pork. Foreign ships were usually damaged by storms in this area. [a number of versions recorded with the wrong word “ỷ” (meaning anchored)].5 Previously, the Nguyễn Lords created the Hoàng Sa militia with 70 persons, selected from An Vĩnh village. Every year, the team was sent out to the islands in the second month, bringing a 6-month food supply, in 5 small fishing boats. The voyage took them three days and three nights. The team could easily catch fish and birds for their food. Their mission was to collect things from ship wrecks: bronze swords, bronze horses, flower-shaped silver, silver coins, circle-shaped silver, bronze items, tin blocks, lead blocks, rifles, ivory tusks, beeswax, ceramics, and other items. They also searched for sea turtle shells, sea cucumbers, and striped cochlea grains. They came back in the 8th month, going directly through Eo6 estuary to the capital city of Phú Xuân to deliver all collected items. These collected items would then be weighted and classified. After that, the team would be allowed to sell striped cochleae, small sea turtles, and sea cucumbers; they were then awarded certificates and came home. The number of collected items varied from year to year, sometimes the team could return empty handed. Following is what I have read from the register kept by former Company Commander Thuyên Đức Hầu (Marquis of Thuyên Đức) in the Year of Nhâm Ngọ (Year of the Horse), 30 taels7 of silver; in the Year of Giáp Thân (Year of the Monkey), 5,100 pounds of tin; in the

10  Historical data Year of Ất Dậu (Year of the Rooster), 126 taels of silver; from the Year of Kỉ Sửu (Year of the Buffalo) to the Year of Quí Tị (Year of the Snake), only a few sea turtle shells each year; in certain years, only one tin blocks, one ceramic bowl, and two bronze cannons. The Nguyễn Lords also created the Bắc Hải (North Sea) team with undetermined number of persons, from Tứ Chính village of Bình Thuận Province, or Cảnh Dương village. Anyone who volunteered would receive an order to be officially installed as a member of the team and some tax exemption. They would travel by small fishing boats to the Bắc Hải area, Côn Lôn (Poulo Condor) Island, and the islands in the Hà Tiên area, collecting items from ship wrecks, sea turtles, abalones, sea cucumbers. Their activities would be supervised by the Hoàng Sa militia. Most of the time they were able to collect sea products; gold, silver, and other precious goods were rarely found. The main island of Paracel Islands was close to Province of Liêm Châu on Hainan Island. Sometimes, our people going by boats met Chinese fishing boats, and exchanged greetings with them. I have seen an official correspondence sent by the Chinese head administrator of the District of Văn Xương, Quỳnh Châu to the Province of Thuận Hóa mentioning that: in the 18th Year of Kiền Long there were 10 soldiers from An Vĩnh village, team Cát Liềm, District of Chương Nghĩa, Province of Quảng Ngãi, country of Annam, going to Vạn Lý Trường Sa (Spratly Islands) to search and collect items. Eight of them landed to carry out the search; only 2 remained aboard to safeguard the boat. The boat was blown away by strong winds and was driven ashore at our seaport of Thanh Lan. Our local officials have verified their identities and sent them back to their country of origin. Nguyễn Phúc Chu [this was a mistake, it should have been Nguyễn Phúc Khoát] ordered the Administrator of Thuận Hóa, Thức Lượng Hầu (Marquis of Thức Lượng) to send a response. Thus, Phủ biên tạp lục has recorded very clearly the activities of the Hoàng Sa militia in the North, with an incident in which the Hoàng Sa soldiers were blown by the storm to China’s seaport of Thanh Lan. The Hoàng Sa militia was also supervising the activities of the Bắc Hải in the South (Spratly of today). Before that there were Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư8 (Southern sky four-direction road map atlas) in Hồng Đức bản đồ (Hồng Đức maps) and Toàn tập An Nam lộ đồ (Complete Road Map Atlas of Annam) in Thiên hạ bản đồ (Maps of the world) by Đỗ Bá Công Đạo, in the 7th Year of Chính Hòa (1686) (document kept at the Viện Nghiên Cứu Hán Nôm [Institute of Hán-Nôm Studies], Hà Nội, notation A2628). Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư and Toàn tập An Nam lộ đồ both had a map, which was the oldest document with a note as follows: at sea there is a long strip of sands called Strip of Yellow Sands (Hoàng Sa), 400-mile long and 20-mile large. From the Đại Chiêm estuary to the Sa Kỳ estuary, when the southwesterly wind blows the foreign merchant ships going along the inner side will be wrecked here; when the northeasterly wind blows then the merchant ships going along the outer side will also be damaged and

Historical data  11 ran aground here. Their crews will all be starving. The goods they carried were left there. Every year, at the end of winter, the Nguyễn Lords always sent 18 boats there to collect these merchandise, mostly gold, silver, coins, rifles and ammunition. The voyage from the Đại Chiêm estuary takes one and a half days. The trip from the Sa Kỳ estuary takes half a day. The information on the time required to go from the Đại Chiêm estuary and the Sa Kỳ estuary to the Strip of Yellow Sands (Hoàng Sa) quoted in this document was not accurate since all other documents, from Phủ biên tạp lục to official historical records, gave the time required as three days and three nights. The Đại Nam nhất thống chí mentioned three and four days. In fact, offshore of the Đại Chiêm estuary and the Sa Kỳ estuary there are no islands with the characteristics described in that document, except for the Strip of Yellow Sands or Hoàng Sa, i.e. Paracels Islands. (China has exploited this inaccuracy to falsely claim that Hoàng Sa is an island close to the shore while in reality there is no island close to the shore as such). In addition to the aforementioned documents, there are many texts currently preserved by the people residing in An Vĩnh ward on the Ré Island belonging to the district-island Lý Sơn, Province of Quảng Ngãi and discovered by Nguyễn Quang Ngọc and Vũ Văn Quân (History Department, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, National University of Hà Nội). An example is a submission by Mr. Hà Liễu, Administrative Coordinator of Ré Island ward, An Vĩnh village, asking the Tây Sơn government permission for the Hoàng Sa militia to continue its activities, and the Instruction Sheet dated the 14th Day of the 2nd Month of the 9th Year of Thái Đức (1786) from the Thái phó Tổng lí quân dân binh chư vụ thượng tướng công (Supreme Commander for Military and Civilian Affairs), regarding the activities of the Hoàng Sa militia. In 1773, two years after their uprising, the Tây Sơn forces were in full control of the land extending from Quảng Nam to Bình Thuận, including Quảng Ngãi. The activities of the Hoàng Sa team in An Vĩnh village were then passed under their control. With their century-old tradition of activities, and their self-reliance on means of transportation, and being familiar with the job, the people of An Vĩnh village have always been members of the Hoàng Sa team. Therefore, at the end of the Nguyễn Lords era in Đàng Trong or Nam Hà (the territory south of Gianh River; the territory north of Gianh River was called Đàng Ngoài or Bắc Hà under the Trịnh Lords), when the Tây Sơn was in control of Quảng Ngãi, the people of An Vĩnh village still maintained their offshore activities. Mr Hà Liễu‘s submission contained a paragraph as follows: Now, like in the past, we have formed two teams Hoàng Sa and Quế Hương, including some people living outside of our village; we will submit the complete list of people involved in the two teams. We will travel by boats to the islands, islets offshore, search and collect all things such as bronze or tin items, small sea turtles, hawksbill sea turtles (eretmochelys imbricata). We will submit all collected items.

12  Historical data The Instruction Sheet dated the 14th Day of the 2nd Month of the 9th Year of Thái Đức (1786) by the Supreme Commander for Military and Civilian Affairs, sent to the Commander of the Hoàng Sa team: Order to Hội Đức Hầu, Commander of Hoàng Sa team, to inspect, encourage and direct the team. When carrying out the mission, do not forget to raise our Navy’s flag. Your Team will travel to Hoàng Sa and other islands in the area on 4 fishing boats, search and collect all items made of gold, silver, bronze and cannons, rifles, hawksbill sea turtles (eretmochelys imbricata), small sea turtle shells and precious stones. You will transport all collected items to the capital city and deliver them according to the regulations. If you disobey and refuse to report for duty, or commit wrongdoing such as exchanging or cutting back on the precious items, or quarrelling with the salt marsh workers or fishermen, you will be punished. 2.1.2  The period from 1802 to 1909 (Nguyễn Dynasty) Many official historical records produced during this period have once again demonstrated Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. The first ones were the Dư địa chí9 (Geographical gazetteer) in the Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí by Phan Huy Chú10 (1821) and the Hoàng Việt địa dư chí11 (1833). Both of them had a section on Tư Nghĩa District, the contents of which dealt mostly with Paracel Islands. The Greater District of Tư Nghĩa, Province of Quảng Nam, had received its name from the time of Emperor Lê Thánh Tông (mid XV century), and was later renamed by Lord Nguyễn Hoàng to District of Quảng Nghĩa (from 1602). Under Tây Sơn Dynasty, this district was again renamed Hòa Nghĩa. In 1801 it was elevated to the status of a Municipality (Trấn). And in the 10th Year of Minh Mạng (1829) its administrative status was changed to Province (Tỉnh). In the 13th Year of Minh Mạng (1832), the Province of Quảng Nghĩa included a greater district with the old name of Tư Nghĩa. Phan Huy Chú had written about the Greater District of Tư Nghĩa of the Lê era instead of the Province of Quảng Nghĩa, and had used old place-names such as Nghĩa Giang and Bình Dương. This demonstrated that Phan Huy Chú had used geographical documents of the Lê-Trịnh era in the North. This was quite logical because the author began to compile this book at the beginning of the Nguyễn Dynasty (during the time he was still struggling with his efforts to pass the examinations). He only submitted his work to Emperor Minh Mạng in the 2nd Year of the latter’s reign (1821) and revealed that he had spent 10 years in the preparation of his work. In the meantime, the Hoàng Việt địa dư chí, although having updated place-names with new names granted by the Nguyễn Dynasty such as District of Chương Nghĩa (with note: formerly Nghĩa Giang), District of Bình Sơn (formerly Bình Dương), still used old place-name for Greater District of Tư Nghĩa. The contents on Paracel Islands of these two books included many points similar to the ones in Phủ biên tạp lục by Lê Quý Đôn at the end of the XVIII century, except for this statement: “Tiền vương lịch triều trí Hoàng Sa đội ” (Establishment

Historical data  13 of Hoàng Sa Team in previous successive dynasties) instead of: “Tiền Nguyễn thị trí Hoàng Sa đội” (Establishment of Hoàng Sa Team in Pre-Nguyễn Dynasty period). This difference can be explained by the fact that the authors of the two aforementioned books lived under the Nguyễn Dynasty while Lê Quý Đôn had lived under the Lê-Trịnh in Đàng Ngoài (Bắc Hà). The Dư địa chí, Volume 5 of Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí, in the section on Quảng Nam, had a mention of the Greater District of Tư Nghĩa. Most of the contents on the Greater District of Tư Nghĩa were about Paracel Islands. This fact showed that the Paracel Islands were very important to the Greater District of Tư Nghĩa during that time. Through what was written, we can see very clearly that the author has used and summarized a great deal the contents of Phủ biên tạp lục. He has also inherited Phủ biên tạp lục when writing Văn tịch chí (Annotated bibliography of literary works). In addition to the physical description of Paracel Islands, he also reported: “The successive administrations of the Nguyễn Lords have created the Hoàng Sa militia consisted of 70 persons selected from the people of An Vĩnh, who took turn to participate.” But a different version of the book recorded the wrong first month instead of the third month as we can read from Phủ biên tạp lục: Every year, from the third month, the Hoàng Sa team carried out its mission, also travelling 3 days 3 nights to Hoàng Sa in 5 small fishing boats, then also came back in the eighth month, going through the Eo estuary to Phú Xuân, and also brought with them 6-month food supply. The Hoàng Việt địa dư chí (by an anonymous author), was engraved and printed in the 14th Year of Minh Mạng (1833) and later was reprinted many times. It was often called the Địa dư Minh Mạng (Minh Mạng geography book). However, according to many people, including Phạm Thận Duật, Hoàng Việt địa dư chí was in fact a work by Phan Huy Chú. This fact was recorded in the reference sources of the Hưng Hóa kí lược (Summary chronicles of Hưng Hóa). The essential contents of the Hoàng Việt địa dư chí and the Dư địa chí in Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí by Phan Huy Chú included many similar points. They also had, however, some sections that were different, either in words used or in the maps. The Dư địa chí had five volumes; the Hoàng Việt địa dư chí had only two volumes with different structure. Like the Dư địa chí by Phan Huy Chú, in the section for Quảng Nam, the Hoàng Việt địa dư chí had a mention of the Greater District of Tư Nghĩa, most the contents of which were about the Paracel Islands. Compared to Dư địa chí, Hoàng Việt địa dư chí gave a shorter description of the same activities of the Hoàng Sa team. The Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên,12 Volume 10 (prepared in 1821, engraved and printed in 1844), was the official document of the Government of Vietnam under the Nguyễn Dynasty regarding the Paracel Islands. This was the first document on the Paracel Islands prepared during the time of the Nguyễn Lords and reprinted by the Nguyễn Dynasty.

14  Historical data Compared to the Phủ biên tạp lục, Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên gave a better description of the characteristics of the archipelago: off the coast of the Quảng Nam Province there was an archipelago called the Strip of Yellow Sands that included more than 130 small islets of sands, no one knew how many thousands of miles long, the distance between them varying from one-day or a-few-hour trip. In addition, Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên also mentioned: “at the beginning of the dynasty, the royal court created the Hoàng Sa team, sent it to the islands in the third month of every year; the voyage took 3 days and 3 nights; the team would come back in the eighth month.” The book also mentioned the Bắc Hải team with members selected from Tứ Chính, Bình Cố or Cảnh Dương village, working in the South, around Côn Lôn, Hà Tiên, and being supervised by the Hoàng Sa team. The Đại Nam thực lục chính biên13 (engraved and printed in 1848) had a total of 11 sections, on the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, with new, rich and very specific information regarding the exercise of Vietnam’s sovereignty over these two archipelagos. Only one year after his coronation (1802), in the 7th month of the Year of the Pig, Emperor Gia Long re-established the Hoàng Sa team. Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ nhất kỉ, (Part I), quyển 12 (Volume 12) (reign of Emperor Gia Long), included a paragraph as follows: “Order Battalion Commander Võ Văn Phú Commander of Seaport Sa Kỳ, to recruit unregistered persons for the Hoàng Sa team.” Đai Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ nhất kỉ (Part I), quyển 50 (Volume 50) (reign of Emperor Gia Long), sheet 6a, recorded: “in the first month of the Year of the Pig (1815) [Emperor Gia Long] ordered the group under Phạm Quang Ảnh of the Hoàng Sa team to go to Paracel Islands, make observations, and take hydrological measurements.” Phạm Quang Ảnh is still today worshipped at the ancestral home of the Phạm Quang family located at the East hamlet, An Vĩnh village, formerly An Vĩnh ward, Lý Sơn island-district (Ré Island). Local tradition has it that “for the soldiers of the Hoàng Sa team, going there is easy, coming back is difficult,” next to the ancestral home of the Phạm Quang family a long “wind” tomb is built. The families, especially the Phạm Quang family, still celebrate the “Lễ khao lề thế lính Hoàng Sa.” Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ nhất kỉ (Part I), quyển 52 (Volume 52) (reign of Emperor Gia Long), once more recorded clearly that: “In the Year of the Rat, 15th Year of Gia Long (1816), Emperor Gia Long ordered the Royal Navy and the Hoàng Sa team to go to Paracel Islands, make observations, and take hydrological measurements.” The Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ nhị kỉ (Part II), Volume 104 (reign of Emperor Minh Mạng), recorded: For the first time, the official historical document of the Vietnamese royal court recorded clearly a statement of the Emperor of Vietnam confirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel Islands, confirming Paracel

Historical data  15 Island being located within the territorial waters of Vietnam, and dispatching people over there to building shrines, erect memorial steles, and plant trees. The Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ nhị kỉ (Part II), Volume 122 (reign of Emperor Minh Mạng), recorded that: “in the Year of the Horse, the 15th Year of Minh Mạng (1834), ordered that the Division Head of Cartographers Trương Phúc Sĩ, with more than 20 sailors voyaged to the Paracel Islands belonging to the Province of Quảng Ngãi to draw maps.” The Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ nhị kỉ (Part II), Volume 154 (reign of Emperor Minh Mạng), recorded: Last year, the Emperor ordered to have the shrine built and memorial steles erected there but the weather conditions were unsuitable for the construction. Now, naval company commander Phạm Văn Nguyên is given order to bring military workers, cartographers, sailors and boats from the two Provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định, and to transport building materials there to build the new shrine (7 trượng from the old shrine) (Note: 1 trượng  =  10 thước = 4 m). A stone memorial stele should be erected on the left side of the new shrine, and a screen in front of it. All works should be finished in 10 days before going back. The Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ nhị kỉ (Part II), Volume 154, also recorded: From this year on, in the second-half of the first month, navy men, soldiers and cartographers should be sent on a boat, with objective to reach Quảng Ngãi in the first-half of the second month. The two Provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định will hire 4 boats from the people and sail to Paracel Islands. The annual preparations should be started from the second-half of the first month [February in Western calendar] to the first-half of the second month [March in Western calendar] so that the team will be ready in Quảng Ngãi by that time, and will be able to make the voyage to Paracel Islands in the third month [April in Western calendar] when the sea conditions will be perfect for the voyage. The Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ nhị kỉ (Part II), Volume 165 (reign of Emperor Minh Mạng), reported very clearly The Ministry of Public Works’ viewpoint and its activities in Paracel Islands: Paracel Islands area is part of our national waters, and in a very sensitive location. In the past, we had one topographical map drawn, but did not know how to use it. Every year, we sent people over there to make observations and to maintain familiarity with the seaways. On each island, each beach, once the boats come ashore, we immediately take measurements of the length, the width, the height of the island. We also measure the sea depth around the beaches, make observations regarding reefs, dangerous features, take proper measurements, and to draw maps.

16  Historical data This is the document that reflects the detailed instructions by the Ministry of Public Works regarding the activities of the navy men, soldiers and cartographers in their surveying and map drawing on a large scale. The Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ nhị kỉ (Part II), Volume 165 also mentioned: Following the submitted report of the Ministry of Public Works, Emperor . . . Minh Mạng ordered the Royal Navy’s Company Commander Phạm Hữu Nhật to lead the mission, bringing with them 10 wooden markers to be planted as our sovereignty markers (each marker was 5 thước long, 5 tấc wide, 1 tấc thick (2 metre long, 40 cm wide, 4 cm thick), with the following inscription on its surface: The 17th Year of Minh Mạng, Year of the Monkey, Royal Navy’s Company Commander Phạm Hữu Nhật obeyed order to make the trip to Hoàng Sa [Paracel Islands] and left these markers. The Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ tam kỉ (Part III), Volume 49 (reign of Emperor Thiệu Trị) recorded: In the 5th Year of Thiệu Trị, Year of the Rooster (1845), Fifth-ranked Royal Guard Nguyễn Hoán, ordered to go to Hoàng Sa, Province of Quảng Ngãi, has deliberately created troubles in the villages . . . He should be punished by exile. Being official historical records of the Nguyễn Dynasty, the various summary chronicles, in addition to the Thực lục, also recorded the exercise of sovereignty by the Royal Navy in the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) and Trường Sa (Spratly) archipelagos. For example, the Quốc triều chính biên toát yếu14 (Our Dynasty main summary chronicles), Quyển III (Volume III), by Quốc Sử Quán Triều Nguyễn (National Institute of Historical Research of Nguyễn Dynasty), reign of Emperor Minh Mạng, included three paragraphs related to the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) archipelago: •

•

First paragraph (Quốc triều chính biên toát yêu, Volume III, sheets 97b–98a): “Hoàng Sa in the waters of the Province of Quảng Ngãi has an islet of white sands with luxuriant vegetation. On the islet there is a well. In the southwest here is an old shrine with a stone memorial stele bearing the inscription: ‘Vạn lý ba bình’ (calm sea for ten thousand miles). The white-sand islet used to be called Phật Tự Sơn (Buddhist Temple Mountain). There are coral reefs around the east, west and south sides. There is a stony hill with a perimeter of 340 trượng, [1 trượng = 10 thước = 4 meters], as high as the sandy hill; it is called Bàn Than Thạch (Big Submerged Rock). Order has been given to build a shrine and erect a stele there. A screen should be built in front of the shrine.” Second paragraph (Quốc triều chính biên toát yếu, Volume III, sheet 104a): “In the 1st Month, of the 17th Year of Minh Nạng, Year of the Monkey (1836 . . . the royal court ordered the Royal Navy Company Commander Phạm Hữu Nhật to lead a flottilla to the Province of Quảng Ngãi, then to Hoàng Sa area. Their

Historical data  17

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mission was to record everything about the islands: their length, width, height, perimeter, any sandbanks or reef around them, any special dangerous features, the distance between them and the shore, and the closest inland province. The team was also ordered to bring with them wooden markers to mark the place, and to draw maps to be submitted to the Emperor.” Third paragraph (Quốc triều chính biên toát yếu, Volume III, sheet 110a): “In the 12th Month, of the 17th Year of Minh Mạng (1836), a British merchant ship, passing through the Hoàng Sa area, ran aground and was shipwrecked. The survivors came ashore in Bình Định Province in a group of 90 people. The Emperor ordered to provide them with shelter and foods and money as well. The Captain, and the Chief Mate were very grateful. The Emperor also sent an Envoy to the West (?). Nguyễn Tri Phương brought them to the dock at Hạ Châu to send them home.”

In addition to the historical books, there were geographical books that were also prepared by Quốc Sử Quán such as the Đại Nam nhất thống chí,15 Volume 6, of which included two paragraphs on the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. The first paragraph gave a description of the Province of Quảng Ngãi with the Hopàng Sa (Paracel) archipelago on its eastern side. The second paragraph was about the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) archipelago itself with valuable information such as the voyage time from Sa Kỳ seaport to Hoàng Sa should take from three to four days. This document re-affirmed the yearly activities of the Hoàng Sa team, whose mission was to go to Hoàng Sa around the third month, to collect sea products, and to return in the 8th month through the Tư Hiền estuary to submit collected items. The Bắc Hải (North Sea) team, supervised by the Hoàng Sa team, would go to the Bắc Hải (Trường Sa = Spratly) Islands, and Côn Lôn (Poulo Condor) Islands with the same mission. More specifically, in the 16th Year of Minh Mạng (1835), the Emperor ordered the Royal Navy to transport bricks, stones to Hoàng Sa to build a shrine and temple, and to erect a memorial stone stele as a marking. The workers, who accompanied the Hoàng Sa team, helped dig out 2,000 pounds of iron, cast iron and bronze sheets. The Đại Nam nhất thống chí also mentioned clearly that at the beginning of his reign, Emperor Gia Long, following past practice, re-created the Hoàng Sa team. However, we also observed that in 1816, Emperor Gia Long ordered not only the Hoàng Sa team but also his Royal Navy to go Hoàng Sa to do explorations and take measurements. Only toward the end of the reign of Gia Long then the Hoàng Sa team was disbanded. According to the Đại Nam nhất thống chí, Emperor Minh Mạng, at the beginning of his reign, ordered government ships to explore the seaways. The Đại Nam nhất thống chí also reported that at the southwest corner of the island there was an old shrine (with unknown date of construction) having a stele with the inscription “Vạn lý Ba Bình,” and used to be called Phật tự sơn. The Đại Nam nhầt thống chí also mentioned a small mound called Bàn Than Thạch. Beside the official historical records, there were also numerous historical documents prepared privately by the historians mentioning the Paracel Islands. For example: the Việt sử cương giám khảo lược (Summary research account of the

18  Historical data history of Viet), Volume IV by Nguyễn Thông16 (1877) contained the following account of the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) Islands: Vạn Lý Trường Sa (Ten Thousand Miles of Long Sandbanks): from Lý Sơn Island (with popular name of Ngoại La, aka Cù Lao Ré [Ré Island]), it takes 3 days and 3 nights by boat. From the early days of our country, Việt Nam, strong men from the two villages of An Hải and An Vĩnh, were selected to form the Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands) team, whose mission was to collect sea products. Every year, the team left in the second month and came back in the eighth month. The sandbanks stretched from the east to the south, some above water, some submerged, for thousands of miles. Within the sandbanks, there were lagoons deep enough for boats to anchor. There was also fresh water on the sandbanks. There were many unknown species of seabirds. There was an old shrine of unknown date of construction, having a tiled roof and a banner with the inscription “Vạn lý Ba Bình.” The soldiers accompanying the team usually brought with them seeds of trees from the south which they sowed inside and outside of the shrine, hoping that they would grow into trees as markings. After the Hoàng Sa team was disbanded, nobody knew of that shrine anymore. The legend of the old days used to say much about the beautiful landscapes of “Thập Châu Tam Đảo” (Ten Regions and Three Islands). Today one cannot reason that these lands are non-existent, and it will be a mistake to say these lands are fairylands. The period from the beginning of the XVII century to the beginning of the XIX century did not leave us with many documents (partly because of the war, partly because the Nguyễn Lords did not organize their territory into a structural kingdom, their administration being still one part of the Great Việt in Đàng Ngoài. During the XVII and XVIII centuries, Đại Việt (Great Viet) was divided into 2 parts: Đàng Ngoài or Bắc Hà, and Đàng Trong or Nam Hà; the demarcation line was the Gianh River in the Province of Quảng Bình; Đàng Ngoài – Tonkin – was under the Trịnh Lords; Đàng Trong – Cochinchina – was under the Nguyễn Lords; and this situation lasted until 1744 when Lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát declared himself a Prince. That’s why the only official chronicles were either the Đại Việt sử kí tục biên (1676–1789), prepared by the historians of the Lê-Trịnh era, following order from Lord Trịnh Sâm in 1775, or the other books on the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) Islands by authors from Đàng Ngoài. The An Nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư (Four-direction road map atlas of Annam), with maps prepared and annotated by Đỗ Bá Công Đạo, was produced in the 7th Year of Chính Hòa (1686). In fact, Đỗ Bá Công Đạo, who lived in Đàng Trong for some time, had been originally from Đàng Ngoài. The Phủ biên tạp lục was written by Lê Quý Đôn in 1776 when he was sent by the Trịnh Lord to Phú Xuân as Governor. Besides, the texts produced during the Tây Sơn era and kept in families on Lý Sơn district-island, were also valuable documents. Later, the Nguyễn Dynasty has produced many documents such as Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên, Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Hoàng Việt địa dư chí, Đại Nam nhất thống chí that recorded very clearly Vietnam’s sovereignty over the

Historical data  19 Hoàng Sa (Paracel) Islands through the creation of the Hoàng Sa militia, which also supervised the Bắc Hải (or Trường Sa = Spratly) team. The Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands) team consisted of 70 members, selected from the An Vĩnh and An Hải villages in land or from the Ré Island (Lý Sơn districtisland). Every year, in the 2nd month or the 3rd month, the team left for Hoàng Sa to carry out its mission. With a six-month food supply provided by the government, the team voyaged three days and three nights to reach the islands. They searched for and collected sea products, as well as firearms, precious metals like gold and silver from shipwrecks. The North Sea team, with an unspecified number of members, consisted of people from either the Tứ Chính village or the Cảnh Dương village of the Province of Bình Thuận. Volunteers would be issued certificates and sent off for the mission. As compensations for the service rendered, they were exempted from some personal and local taxes. They voyaged on fishing boats to the Bắc Hải islands (Spratly Islands), Poulo Condor Island and islands in the Hà Tiên area. Their mission was to search for and collect items from shipwrecks and sea creatures such as sea turtles eretmochelys imbricata, small sea turtles, abalones, and sea cucumbers. In the Tây Sơn era, the people of Ré Island, represented by Mr. Hà Liễu, Administrative Coordinator of Ré Island ward, An Vĩnh village, submitted an application to the Tây Sơn government for permission for the Hoàng Sa team to continue its activities. The Tây Sơn administration responded with the Instruction Sheet by the Thái phó, Supreme Commander for Military and Civilian Affairs, dated the 14th Day of the 2nd Month of the 9th Year of Thái Đức (1786), giving detailed instruction for the Hoàng Sa militia now under Tây Sơn’s rule. During the Nguyễn Dynasty, official historical records as well as geographical gazetteers frequently mentioned about the Hoàng Sa team, which supervised the Bắc Hải team. Only one year after his coronation, in the 7th month of the Year of the Pig (1803), Emperor Gia Long ordered the re-establishment of the Hoàng Sa team, nominated Company Commander Võ Văn Phú Commander of the seaport of Sa Kỳ and ordered him to recruit unregistered people for the Hoàng Sa team. “In the 1st month of the Year of Pig (1815), [Emperor Gia Long] ordered Phạm Quang Ảnh of the Hoàng Sa team to go to Hoàng Sa, making observations, and taking marine hydrological measurements.” From 1816, Emperor Gia Long began to order the Royal Navy to escort the Hoàng Sa team to Hoàng Sa to carry out its mission: surveying and map drawing, planting border markers, erecting sovereignty steles, building shrines, digging wells and planting trees on the two Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. For the first time, the official historical documents of the royal court of Vietnam recorded the statement made by the Vietnamese emperor (Emperor Minh Mạng) affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands, affirming that the Paracel Islands were within Vietnam’s territorial waters and ordering people to build shrines, to erect memorial steles and to plant trees. Another official historical document, the Quốc triều chính biên toát yếu, Volume III, prepared by the Quốc Sử Quán, during the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng,

20  Historical data gave the following information: Hoàng Sa, located within the territorial waters of the Province of Quảng Ngãi, had a white-sand islet with luxuriant vegetation. In the islet there was a well. There was an old shrine in the southwest of the islet, with a stone memorial stele bearing the inscription “Vạn lý Ba Bình.” There were coral reefs on the east, west and north sides of the islands. There was a stony mound, with a perimeter of 340 trượng, as high as the sandy hill, called Bàn Than Thạch. Order was given to build a shrine and to erect a stele there. A screen was to be built in front of the shrine. The official historical document also mentioned: In the 1st Month of the 17th Year of Minh Mạng, Year of the Monkey (1836) . . . the royal court ordered the Royal Navy Company Commander Phạm Hữu Nhật to lead a fleet to the Province of Quảng Ngãi, then to Hoàng Sa area. Their mission was to record everything about the islands: their length, width, height, perimeter, any sandbanks or reef around them, any dangerous features, the distance between them and the shore, and the closest province. The team was also ordered to bring with them wooden markers to mark the place, and to draw maps to be submitted to the Emperor. Other research books or textbooks also give brief descriptions or maps of the Hoàng Sa. For example, the Sử học bị khảo (Complete historical research) prepared by Đặng Xuân Bản (1828–1910) and published both by the Institute of Historical Research and the Publishing House Văn Hóa-Thông Tin in 1997 in Hà Nội, includes the following paragraph on page 164: “in the Province of Quảng Ngãi, Hoàng Sa islands on the high seas, belonging to the District of Bình Sơn, extending for a few thousand miles.” In general, all official historical records, or gazetteers, or research books by famous scholars like Lê Quý Đôn, Phan Huy Chú, and Nguyễn Thông had paragraphs mentioning the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. Throughout three centuries, from the beginning of the XVII century to 1910, the year when Đại Nam nhất thống chí was engraved and printed, our country’s history has continuously recorded both the activities of the Hoàng Sa team, which also supervised the activities of the Bắc Hải team in the South, and the activities of the Royal Navy with the support of the Hoàng Sa team in the affirmation and exercise of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands.

2.2  Western and Chinese documents Western documents as well as Chinese documents produced before 1909 are objective evidences that demonstrate Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands. 2.2.1  Pre-1909 Western documents The French, through the activities of the missionaries, merchants, especially after Bishop Pigneau de Béhaine provided Nguyễn Ánh (future Emperor Gia Long) with military aid, had started to show their interest on Vietnam. In addition, since

Historical data  21 they had inherited the knowledge gained by the Portuguese and the Dutch people, they had a fairly good grasp of the internal political situations of both Đàng Trong and Đàng Ngoài during the time of division as well as after the reunification of the country. Since then, the Western people had full knowledge of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands. They had exploited it in the exercise of their administration. Documents prepared and published by the Western people who had served under Gia Long such as Chaigneau, Taberd gave a clearer picture of the activities by Gia Long. In his memoirs “Le mémoire sur la Cochichine,”17 Chaigneau wrote: “The Emperor only really took possession of these islands in 1816.” Bishop Taberd also wrote: “In 1816 the Emperor (Emperor Gia Long) had the Đàng Trong flag solemnly raised there.” In 1849, the missionary Gutzlaff mentioned that the government of Vietnam under Emperor Gia Long has established a post on the island to collect taxes and to protect the Vietnamese fishermen. Due to the sea currents as well as the wind direction in the East Sea, the victims of shipwrecks in the Paracel Islands area often ended up ashore along the coastline of Central Vietnam, which used to be called Đàng Trong (or Nam Hà) in the XVII and XVIII centuries, and was called Cochinchina or Annam by Westerners. In the XIX and XX centuries, especially before 1945, when Vietnam was under French colonial administration, and the royal court of Huế was just a puppet government, having jurisdiction only over Central Vietnam from the Province of Thanh Hóa to the Province of Bình Thuận, Central Vietnam used to be called Annam by the French or the Westerners. Following is a list of early Western documents which mentioned Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos: •

The correspondence and diaries of Westerners, including the French, have been compiled into the Lettres édifiantes et curieuses published by the Archives des missions étrangères de Paris, in 1838, in four volumes. The diary of the Amphitrite18 is part of this compilation. •

•

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Letters written by the missionary Tartre, member of the Missions étrangères de Paris, travelling on board of the Amphitrite from Europe to China. This correspondence, published in 1843, included a note mentioning that Paracel Islands were an archipelago belonging to the kingdom of Annam. In Lettres édifiantes et curieuses concernant l’Asie, l’Afrique et l’Amérique, avec quelques relations nouvelles des missions et des notes géographiques et historiques, Volume III, printed in 1843, page 38, there is a paragraph on Paracel Islands: “We sailed with a fair wind, and in no time we reached Paracel Islands. These were dreadful reefs over hundreds of miles, decried by shipwrecks at all times. They extended along the coast of Cochinchina. The Amphitrite crew, in their first trip to China, have thought about their own possible wreck in that area.” El Atlas abreviado, tomo Segundo, parte primera, Spain, 1739 by Francesco Giustiniani. In the notes on page 139 of this atlas (published in

22  Historical data Spain, in 1739), Francesco Giustiniani listed the place-names of Đàng Trong (Reino de Cochinchina Sinoe) including the Paracel Islands. [Page 139 “Reino de Cochinchina Sinoe. P. 28 Quehao, Baubom, Faifo ó Haifo. P., Pracel Isla., Chiampa, fol. 28”]. • Suite de la Géographie de bushing, tome neuvième, Lausanne (France), 1781, Jean Pierre Berenger. Cochinchina (or Nam Hà) was described in detail by Pierre Berenger from page 496 to page 502, in which Paracel or Pracel was considered as part of Annam (Cochinchina). [Page 502 “Au levant de la Cochinchine est une longue chaine de petites îles qu’on nomme Pracel ou Paracel; et plus loin un amas d’îlots qu’on nomme les Lunettes.”]. [Translated into English: On the east of Cochinchina is a long chain of small islands called Pracel or Paracel; and further there is a group of small islets, called Les Lunettes].

•

The aforementioned documents, appearing before 1816, have mentioned very clearly that the Paracel archipelago belonged to the Đàng Trong (or Nam Hà) of Đại Việt. And, of course, after the reunification of the country, with the establishment of the Nguyễn Dynasty, Emperor Gia Long has had concrete measures taken to re-affirm the sovereignty of the reunified government, following Western practice, such as sending the Royal Navy to Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands to plant border markers, erect sovereignty steles, and exploit sea products. In addition, certain particular Western documents also mentioned Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos. These documents are numerous, with highly precise data, and very definite on the issue of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. Geographical works by some of the XIX-century, world-famous geographers: • The Abrégé de géographie, rédigé sur un nouveau plan by Adriano Balbi (an Italian author), published in French in Paris, in 1833, has the following paragraph on page 745: “COUNTRY. THE KINGDOM OF COCHINCHINA (Đàng Trong or kingdom of The Inside; kingdom of Southern Annam). THE PROVINCIAL TOWNS, THE CITIES AND THE MOST REMARKABLE PLACES. Huế (Huefo), Thuận Hóa (Keoha or Toanhoa); Hội An (Hue-han or Faifo), Đà Nẵng (Touran or Hansan); the city [Đà Nẳng?] was in bad shape despite its importance acquired through trade and its wonderful bay; the French, to whom the city had been ceded in 1878, never took possession [Prince Cảnh, Lord Nguyễn Ánh’s son, accompanied Bishop Pigneau de Béhaine to France and signed a treaty at Versailles in which the French would provide military aids for Prince Nguyễn Ánh to fight the Tây Sơn]; Tam Kỳ (?) (Kitta or Quita); Quy Nhơn (Kinhone or Quinhone); Phú Yên (Phuyen or Quiphu). The Paracel archipelago, composed of small islands frequently visited by fishermen.” [Page 745. “PAYS. ROYAUME DE COCHINCHINE (Dang-trong ou royaume du Dedans; royaume d’Annam Méridional). CHEFS-LIEUX, VILLES ET LIEUX LES PLUS REMARQUABLES. HUE (Huefo);

Historical data  23 Keoha (Toanhoa); Hue-han (Faifo); Touran (Hansan); ville très déchue, quoique toujours importante par son commerce et par sa baie superbe; les Franҫais, à qui elle fut cédée en 1787, n’en prirent jamais possession; Kitta (Quita); Kinhone (Quinhone); Phuyen (Quiphu). L’archipel de Paracels, composé d’îlots fréquentés par les pêcheurs.”] • The Nuovo dizionario geografico universale statistic-storico-commerciale, tomo IV, parte I by the authors Adriano Balbi, Cannabich, MalteBrun, Pinkerton, published in Venice (Italy), in 1831, recorded on page 680 that the Paracel archipelago was located at 15°46’ to 17°8’ north latitude and 108°50’ to 110°24’ east longitude, almost equal distance to Hai Nan Island and Annam, and belonging to the Kingdom of Annam (name of Vietnam at that time). [Page 680. “PARACELS, riunione di scogli e d’isole del mar della China fra 15°46’ e 17°8’ di lat. N., e fra 108°50’ e 110°24’ di long. E.” a 50 I.S.E. dall’isola Hainan, e ad eguale dist. Della costa orientale della Cochinchina. Si compone di molti fruppi, dei quail I più osservabili sono quelli di Discovery, Amfitrite e Voadore. Quest’arcipelago è considerate come una dipendenza dell’impero di Annam”]. • The Traité élémentaire de géographie: contenant un abrégé méthodique du Précis de la géographie universelle en quatre volumes, divisé en deux parties, Première partie by the authors Adriano Balbi, Conrad MalteBrun, Philippe Francois de la Renandière, published in Brussels (Belgium), in 1832, includes a paragraph with the same contents on page 505: equal distance from Paracel Islands to Hainan Island and to Annam (Cochinchina); and, the Paracel archipelago belonging to the Kingdom of Annam. [Page 505 “A une égale distance de la côte de Cochinchine et de l’île d’Hainan, l’archipel de Paracels est une dépendance de l’empire d’Annam”]. • Adriano Balbi also wrote a geography book entitled Compendio di geografia universal, quarta edizione, tomo primo, published in Livorno (Italy), in 1824. On pages 305, 306, the author clearly stated that the Hoàng Sa (Pracels or Paracels) were the islands along the coastline belonging to Cochinchina. [Pages 305, 306 “Pare che l’archipelago de pracels (Paracels) posto dirimpretto la spiaggia della Cochinchina sia dependente anch’ esso da questo Stato”]. •

Documents used in geography teaching: Géographie des géographies: nouveau cours de géographie ancienne et de géographie moderne comparées by J.F. Queyras, published in Paris, in 1836, mentioned on page 342 that the Paracel, Condor, and Pirates archipelagos belonged to the Kingdom of Annam. [Page 342 “L’archipel des Paracels; les îles du Condor, cap. PouloCondor; le groupe des Pirates, au royaume d’An-Nam”]. • Manuel complet des aspirants au baccalauréat ès-lettres, tome premier, première partie: Rhétorique-Géographie by the professors of the Paris •

24  Historical data

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Famous XIX-century Western encyclopaedias and geographical dictionaries •

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Academy, published in 1824, also mentioned on page 175: dependent islands: . . in the West, Andaman et Nicobar Islands. In the South East, Condor Islands. East of Cochinchina, Paracel Islands. [Page 175 “îles dependants. À l’O. îles d’Andaman, et Nicobar. Au S.E. îles de Condor. À l’E. de la Cochinchine, Archipel des Paracels”]. Compendio de geografia moderna, Barcelona by Professor M. Andreu, published in 1829, affirmed on page 87 that Paracel Islands belonged to Cochinchina or Annam. [Page 87 “SECCION 7a islas del impero de Tonkin. I. Las principals son: 1. Las de Condor – Cerca de la costa S.E. de Camboja. La mayor está cubierta de montes agudos en parte estériles y en parte poblados de animals venenosos. Se hallan en estas islas búfalos, cerdo, arroz y bananas. 2. Les Paracels. – Al E. de la Cochinchina. Es un archipíelago de islas pequenas é islotes, muy frecuentoda por los pescodores”] [Translated into English: Section 7a islands of the empire of Tonkin. I. The main ones are: 1. Condor island – Near the South East coast of Cambodia. Mostly covered by barren mountains and populated by venomous animals. Found on this island are buffaloes, pigs, rice and bananas. 2. The Paracels. In the East of Cochinchina. It is an archipelago if islands and islets, often visited by fishermen.]

Encyclopaedia Britannica: a Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, 8th edition, Volume 7, 1854, on pages 47–50, gave a description of Cochinchina, and mentioned that the people of Nam Hà collected sea products on islands called Paracels. [Page 50 “They employ various descriptions of vessels in the coasting trade, in fishing, and in collecting the biche-de-mer or sea-slug, and the swallows’ nests amongst the cluster of islands called the Paracels”]. English Encyclopaedia, vol. 2, London, 1866 by Charles Knight, had the following paragraph on page 521: “COCHINCHINA, called also ANNAM, is in that part of Eastern Asia which is usually known as India without the Ganges, of which it forms the Eastern portion  .  .  .  For nearly 400 miles along this coast extend the Paracels shoals, which may be described as an overflowed continent lying just beneath the surface of water. Between the shoals and the coast is left a narrow negative passage, which is constantly used by vessels sailing in these seas.”

In addition, among the 37 Western documents written in English, French, Italian, Spanish in this author’s possession, and having been compiled into the Collection of documents on Vietnam’s sovereignty and translated into English and posted on the Internet at: www.hoangsa.org, there are a number of documents, which affirmed that Paracels meant Yellow Sands (meaning Cát Váng or Hoàng Sa) or Yellow Isles (Cồn Vàng) such as:

Historical data  25 L’Univers: histoire et description de tous les peuples, de leurs religions, mɶurs et coutumes by Bishop Jean Louis Taberd, published in 1833. Bishop Taberd mentioned that Emperor Gia Long officially affirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands in 1816. He wrote: “We are not going to list the main islands of Cochinchina. We only want to bring to your attention the fact that from more than 34  years, the Paracel archipelago, which were called by the Vietnamese Cát Vàng or Hoàng Sa (meaning Cát Vàng) and included many small islands with reefs intertwined with sand beaches and were feared by seafarers, had been occupied by the Vietnamese people of Đàng Trong. We do not know if they had established any bases there, but we know that Emperor Gia Long intended to add that exotic flower to his crown and that’s why he decided that it was the right time for him to personally make the voyage to the Paracel Islands in 1816 to solemnly plant the flag of Đàng Trong.” • Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. VI, part 2, Calcutta, 1837, had the following paragraph written in English by Bishop Taberd: “The Pracel or Paracels, is a labyrinth of small islands, rock and sand-banks, which appeared to extend up to the11th degree of North latitude, in the 107th parallel of longitude from Paris. Some navigators have traversed part of these shoals with a boldness more fortunate than prudent, but others have suffered in the attempt. The Cochin Chinese called them Cồn Vàng. Although this kind of archipelago presents nothing but rocks and great depths which promise more inconveniences than advantages, the king Gia Long thought he had increased his dominions by this sorry addition. In 1816, he went with solemnity to plant his flag and take some formal possession of these rocks, which it is not likely anybody will dispute with him.” • In the L’Univers: histoire et description de tous les peoples, de leurs religions, mɶurs, coutumes, Paris, 1848 by Jean Yanoski, the author wrote on page 555: “We are not going into listing the principal islands of Cochinchina; we will only make the observation that for 34 years the Paracel archipelago has been called Cát Vàng (Yellow Sands) by the people of Annam.” [Page 555 “Nous n’entrerons pas dans l’énumération des principales îles dépendantes de la Cochinchine; nour ferons seulement observer que depuis trente-quatre ans l’archipel des Paracels (nommé par les Annimites Cát-Vàng)”]. • In the article “Geography of the Cochinchine Empire” by Gutzlaff and Norton Shaw, Hume Greenfield, and Henry Walter Bates, printed in The Journal of the Geographical Society of London, issue no. 19 (1849), the authors have annotated the word “the Paracels” with [Katvang], and noted that the government of Annam had established a small garrison with commandeered ships to collect taxes in Paracel Islands. In this issue, on page 93, there was a fairly long paragraph on the Paracel Islands as follows: “We should not mention here the Paracels (Katvang) which approach 15–20 leagues to the coast of Annam, and extend between 15–17 N. lat. and •

26  Historical data 111–113 E. longitude, if the King of Cochin-china did not claim these as his property, and many isles and reefs, so dangerous to navigators. Whether the coral animals or other causes contribute to the growth of these rocks we shall not determine; but merely state that the islets rise every year higher and higher, and some of them are not permanently inhabited, through which the waves, only few years ago, broke with force. They would be of no value if the fisheries were not very productive, and did not remunerate all the perils of the adventures. From time immemorial, junks in large number from Hainan, have annually visited all these shoals, and proceeded in their excursions as far as the coast of Borneo. Though more than ten percent are annually wrecked, the quantity of fish taken is so great as to ensure all loss, and still leave a very good profit. The Annam government, perceiving the advantages which it might derive if a toll were raised, keeps revenue cutters and small garrison on the spot to collect the duty on all visitors, and to ensure protection to its fishermen. A considerable intercourse has thus gradually been established, and promises to grow in importance on account of abundance of fish which come to these banks to spawn. Some islets bear a stunted vegetation, but fresh water is wanting; and those sailors who neglect to take with them a good supply are often put to great straits.” The author also wrote: “If the King of Cochinchina did not want to claim sovereignty over these islands and reefs, which were dangerous for sea navigation, he would not have personally come to the Paracel Islands.” Although the authors did not give an accurate estimate of the distance from the coast of Vietnam (15–20 leagues), fortunately they gave a very accurate position of 15–17 North latitude and 111–113 East longitude. Thus, the authors stated very clearly that the royal court of the Nguyễn Dynasty had exercised its sovereignty through the establishment of a small garrison with commandeered ships to collect taxes and to protect the Vietnamese fishermen. According to Vietnamese historical documents, 1816 was the first year when Emperor Gia Long ordered the Royal Navy instead of the Hoàng Sa team to go to the Paracel archipelago. It was this event, being considered so important by the Westerners, that led them to write that in 1816 Emperor Gia Long himself, instead of his Royal Navy, had gone to the Paracel Islands to affirm sovereignty over the islands. • The Tableau de la Cochinchine, Paris, 1862, by Pierre Francois Eugène Cortambert, and Louis Léon L. Prunol de Rosny, had the following paragraph on page 7: “very far from the coast, facing Huế, is the Paracel archipelago, or Kat Vang, filled with reefs.” [Page 7 “Beaucoup plus loin de la côte, en face de Hue, est l’archipel des Paracels ou de Kat Vang, rempli d’écueils.”] •

We also have other documents from Western sources stating clearly that the Paracel Islands belonged to Vietnam in 1816. •

Le Mémoire sur la Cochinchine by Jean Baptiste Chaigneau (1769–1825).

Historical data  27 J.B. Chaigneau’s memoirs, written during the last years of Emperor Gia Long’s reign, confirmed that the Emperor had established Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago in 1816. J.B. Chaigneau was granted by Emperor Gia Long Vietnamese name of Nguyễn Văn Thắng, with the nobility title of Marquis of Thắng Toàn (by royal edict dated March  16, 1802). He had served Nguyễn Ánh (former name of Emperor Gia Long) in the fight against the Tây Sơn. He was the person who replaced Jean Marie Dayot at the end of 1796 to command the Phi Long battleship, which was engaged in the naval battle at Thị Nại (1801) and also operated in the Quảng Nam-Huế area. He was made responsible for army logistics in the capital city of Phú Xuân. J.B. Chaigneau’s memoirs entitled Le Mémoire sur la Cochinchine, made public by A. Salles, a French colonial inspector, in the Bulletin des Amis du Vieux Huế, no. 2 (April–June  1923), contained the following paragraph: “The kingdom of Cochinchina, whose king has now proclaimed himself as Emperor, is consisted of Đàng Trong (Cochinchina properly called), Tonkin, part of Cambodia, a few inhabited islands close to the coast and the Paracel archipelago formed by deserted small islands, reefs and rocks. Only in 1816 that the current Emperor took possession of these islands.” • The document Del vario grado d’importanza degli stati odierni, Milan, 1841, by Cristoforo Negri, confirmed on page 421 that Cochinchina claimed sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago in 1816. [Page 421 “Pulo-Sapata si trova a sole 100 miglia maritime dale coste della Cochinchina. Questo Stato nel 1816 ha spinto le proprie occupzioni fino all’Archipelago di Paracelso, gruppo di scogli pericolosi perduti ad immense distanza nel Mar Chinese, e che gl’Inglesi hanno fatto esplorare dal capitano Ross.” [Translated into English: “Poulo-Spata is located only 10 nautical miles from the coast of Cochinchina. This State from 1816 has taken possession of the archipelago of Paracelso, a group of dangerous reefs lost in the immensity of the China Sea, and which the Englisg captain Ross has explored.”] • The document Voyage pittoresque en Asia et en Afrique, Paris, 1839, by Eyries, J.B.B. (Jean Baptiste Benoit). This work confirmed on page 201 that the islands in the South East of Hainan Island, called Paracel Islands, were deserted but fishermen used to go there to catch fish and sea turtles, which were abundant. The Emperor of Annam had exercised his sovereignty there without any reactions from neighbouring countries. [Page 201 “Plusieurs îles relèvent de l’empire d’Annam; on remarque au S.S.E. de Hainan, les Paracels, longue chaine d’écueils très dangereux par les bandes de sable et les bas-fonds qui les entourent: ils sont inhabités, mais comme la pêche des tortues et des poisons y est

28  Historical data abondante, l’empereur d’Annam en prit possession en 1816, sans que ses voisins élevassent de moindre réclamtion.”] In addition, there are many other Western geography books and maps in Italian, French, German, English, Portuguese, Spanish, and published in the first half of the XIX century, which indicated clearly that the Paracel archipelago belonged to the Kingdom of Annam, such as the following: • • • • • • •

The modern part of a universal history, vol. 7, London, 1759 Thomas Keith, A system of geographia, London, 1826 Biagio Soria, La cosmografia istorica, astronomica e fisica, tome VI, Napoli, 1828 Dictionnaire géographique universel: contenant la description de tous les lieux du globe, tome septième, Paris, 1830 Lettres édifiantes et curieuses concernant l’Asia, l’Afrique et l’Amérique, tome 3, Paris, 1843. Wilhelm Hoffmann, Beschreibung der erde, Stuttgart, 1832 Carl Ritter, Julius Ludwig Ideler, Namen und Sach Derzeichnik zu Carl Ritter’s Erdkunde von usien, Berlin, 1841.

Correspondence by the Jesuits living in Nam Hà, currently preserved in the French archives, included five letters related to the Dutch shipwreck of 1714, which were printed in the Special Issue (No. 29) on Paracel and Spratly Islands of the Sử Địa (History-Geograpgy) periodical. Through the five aforementioned letters, we know that in October 1714 three big Dutch ships, on their way back to Batavia (Indonesia) from Japan, when approaching the Paracel archipelago, met a storm that came so suddenly and so fast that they did not have time to fold the sails, resulting in one ship being sunk, causing the death of 17 sailors. The 84 or 87 survivors reached the beach of Yellow Sands (Hoàng Sa). These survivors had to catch birds for food and lived on Paracel Islands for about one month. They gathered the broken pieces of their ships and constructed a small boat and sailed toward Nam Hà. They followed the boats of the fishermen of Nam Hà, who were fishing in the Paracel archipelago area, and reached the seaport of Nha Trang on January 6th, 1715. Bishop Charles Martin Labbé and missionary Pierre Heutte were on mission there at that time. The local mandarins provided them with food and shelter. Missionary Heutte was invited to act as a translator since some of the young Dutchmen knew French and Latin. The Dutchmen were ordered by the court to present themselves in Phú Xuân. After 10 days of travel by road, six or seven Dutchmen died of exhaustion. The remaining survivors came to show their respects to Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu on June 1, 1715, and, following the court protocol, they had to prostrate three times at the beginning and at the end of the court session. Among the shipwreck victims there were some black slaves. A Vietnamese mandarin disagreed

Historical data  29 with the concept of slavery and invited one of the slaves to stay with him. Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu provided them with a lump sum of 50 quan, 10 sacks of rice and 20 jugs of fish sauce. They were then transported to Hội An to wait for a ship to get them back to their country. Finally, they were transported to Batavia by a Chinese merchant ship, but had to wait until January of 1716 for the northerly monsoon. Through the story of the shipwreck of 1714, we see very clearly that, at the beginning of the XVIII century, the fishermen of Đàng Trong had already been very active in the Paracel archipelago area, and they helped the Western victims of shipwreck to get to Nha Trang. It was also because the Westerners, after their shipwrecks in the Paracel archipelago area, usually came to Đàng Trong for help, the government of Đàng Trong was informed of these shipwrecks in the Paracel archipelago area, and every year sent the Hoàng Sa team there to collect sea products, and also items from the shipwrecks such as gold, silver, rifles and ammunition. That was how the Westerners came to know that the Paracel Islands belonged to the government of Nam Hà. At the end of the XVIII century, the western officers and sailors, who had served under Nguyễn Ánh in his fight against the Tây Sơn, like Dayot, advised the Nguyễn Lord to follow Western practice in sending his navy from 1816 to raise flag, to plant border markers and to erect memorial steles for Vietnam’s sovereignty in the Paracel archipelago. 2.2.2  Pre-1909 Chinese documents During the time when the conflict over sovereignty had not started yet, i.e. before 1909, many Chinese documents, indirectly or directly, recognized Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. •

Hải ngoại ký sự written by Thích Đại Sán,19 a Chinese Buddhist monk, in 1696.20   In Volume 3 of Hải ngoại kí sự, Thích Đại Sán referred to Vạn Lý Trường Sa (Thousand-Mile Long Sandbanks) or the Paracel archipelago, and stated that the Nguyễn Lords had exercised their sovereignty over these Islands as follows: There are sandbanks laying along the coast, extending from north-east to south-west; some as high and vertical as the walls, some as low as the surface of sea water; the sand surface is as dry and hard as iron and could damage the ships; the sandbanks are hundreds of miles wide, and extend as far as the eyes can see. They are called “Vạn Lý Trường Sa,” without any vegetation or habitation; when ships, forced by bad winds, or bad tides, ran aground there, even without serious damages, but without rice and fresh water, their crews would face starvation. The voyage from Đại Việt (Great Viet) to these islands takes about 7 days, for a distance of about 700 miles. During the administration of the past ruler, every year fishing boats were sent there to collect gold, silver,

30  Historical data tools left by shipwrecks at Vạn Lý Trường Sa. In the autumn, the tide is low and runs to the east; big waves could push a boat hundreds of miles off course; the wind force is not so strong, but the danger is always there at Trường Sa.

The Monk Thích Đại Sán recounted his voyage experience through the Paracel archipelago area and estimated that the voyage from the archipelago to Đại Việt (Great Viet) (i.e. Đàng Ngoài) took about seven days. Vietnamese documents revealed that it took a whole day to go from one island to another. Now if it took seven days to reach Đàng Ngoài then it was perfectly logical to take three days and three nights to reach the islands from the coast of Đàng Trong. Monk Thích Đại Sán also wrote that “During the administration of the past ruler, every year fishing boats were sent there to collect gold, silver, tools left by shipwrecks at Vạn Lý Trường Sa.” This statement was consistent with Vietnamese documents on activities of the Hoàng Sa militia, only more informative by affirming that these activities had been carried out even before the time of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu (1691–1725), meaning at least from the time of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Trăn (1687–1691) or other previous Nguyễn Lords. During this period of time, the Paracel and Spratly Islands were not the objects of sovereignty conflict, and, thus, Thích Đại Sán, as a Chinese, was objective in his recognition of Đại Việt’s sovereignty over these islands. Thích Đại Sán was well informed of what was going on in Đàng Trong of Đại Việt, and, therefore, gave a detailed account in his work.

Notes 1 Paracel or Parcel or Pracel are terms used by Westerners for the Hoàng Sa archipelago. Paracel is an English and French term. Parcel or Pracel are Portuguese and Dutch terms. Parcel, according to Portuguese-Vietnamese dictionary, means Reef. When Paracel is written with an s at the end, it is the plural form, and means a group of islands. 2 Đại Việt sử ký tục biên: the official historical records of Đại Việt (Great Việt)) that superseded Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư (Complete chronicles of the Great Viet) by recording the history of Vietnam from 1676 to 1789. 3 An Vĩnh: name of a village belonging to the District of Bình Sơn, Province of Quảng Ngãi, that covered both the coastal inland village and the off-shore Cù lao Ré (Ré Island), where men for the Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands) Militia from the beginning of the Nguyễn Dynasty were recruited. 4 Cù lao Ré: the island got its name Ré because, in the old days, there were a lot of “ống ré” (a kind of reed) used to make ropes. Ré, not Trẻ, is the nick name of Lý Sơn Island, offshore, east of District of Bình Sơn, Province of Quảng Ngãi. The Island includes two wards: An Vĩnh and An Hải. According to Non nước xứ Quảng tân biên (New chronicles of the country of Quảng) by Phạm Trung Việt, Cù lao Ré has an area of 19 square km. The survey carried out in July 1996 by the Museum of Quảng Ngãi in Lý Sơn district-island discovered four old jar tombs belonging to the Sa Huỳnh civilization era in the hamlet of Oác (Lý Vĩnh), Lý Sơn Island. See Nguyễn Thanh Tùng, Di sản văn hóa Lý Sơn (Cultural heritage of Lý Sơn); Đoàn Ngọc Khôi, Nguồn gốc và minh lể xưa trên đảo Lý Sơn (Origin and old ritual ceremony on Lý Sơn Island), Tạp chí (Periodical) Cẩm Thành, Quảng Ngãi, pp. 21–28). 5 The original texts kept at the Institute of Hán-Nôm Studies have four different versions: two of them have the correct word “hoại” (damaged) written in full characters

Historical data  31 (A 148, A 1175); one with the word “hoại” written with only one character missing (VHV. 1263); one written with the wrong word “ỷ” (VHV. 1737). Since the word “ỷ” is incorrect, the translation into Quốc ngữ “các thuyền ngoại phiên bị bão thường đậu ở đảo này” (foreign ships battered by storms usually anchored at this island) should be changed into “Thuyền các nước ngoài gặp gió phần nhiều hư hỏng tại đảo này” (Foreign ships battered by storms were usually damaged at this island). (See Phạm Hân, “Một lầm lẫn về văn bản học của Phủ biên tạp lục cần được đính chính” (A mistake of textual study of the Phủ biên tạp luc needs to be corrected; Tạp chí Hán-Nôm [Journal of Hán-Nôm studies], Hà Nội, no. 2–15, 1993, pp. 28–29). 6 Cửa Eo: Thuận An estuary (Huế). 7 Tael: hốt, or nén, a Chinese unit of measurement for weight, equalling to 10 lạng; lạng (liang) is 38 grams; a Chinese pound is 16 liangs. 8 Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư: Currently, the Institute of Hán-Nôm Studies (Hà Nội) has a copy of the map atlas prepared by Đỗ Bá Công Đạo under the heading “Toàn tập An Nam lộ đồ” with the inscription “Chính Hòa thất niên” (7th Year of Chính Hòa, i.e. 1686), and attached to Thiên hạ bản đồ. The same contents, with the heading “Toàn tập Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư,” (Complete collection of southern sky four-direction road map atlas was attached to Hồng Đức bản đồ. The first page of this map atlas has this inscription: “Thanh Giang Bích Triều Nho sinh trúng thức, Đỗ Bá thị, Công Đạo phủ soạn” (Academian from Thanh Giang Bích Triều, with family name Đỗ Bá, given name Công Đạo respectfully prepared) (this inscription is also in the Hồng Đức bản đồ currently kept under registration number 100891 at the Indochina Archives [Tokyo Bunko] of Japan) or “Thanh Giang Bích Triều Nho sinh trúng thức Đỗ Bá thị, tự Công Đạo tập” (Academian from Thanh Giang Bích Triều, with family name Đỗ Bá, given name Công Đạo compiled) (recorded on Toàn tập An Nam lộ đồ currently kept at the Institute of Hán-Nôm Studies, Hà Nội, with registration number A2628). The word “phủ” used here is a word to express modesty, meaning respectfully, rarely used today; that’s why many people have mistaken for name “Đạo Phủ.” In the genealogical table of the Đỗ family currently residing in Cẩm Nang hamlet, Bich Triều village, Thanh Chương district, Province of Nghệ An, in the Appendix, close to the end, there is a paragraph as follows: In the old days, our family had a member Đỗ Bá, first name Công Luận or Công Đạo, who has passed at the top of the Hương Examination, and was given a favour by the royal court to become a Giám sinh (title reserved for a student of the Quốc tử giám, the unique national university established and located in the capital city), but he was not satisfied. As the son of a former mandarin, he was nominated Administrator of Thạch Hà District, but he did not want to become a mandarin. He often lamented: “Having border with Chiêm Thành (Champa), in the old days, our country was invaded every year, one time the invaders penetrated deep into our border, killing our people and pillaging the Phuống market.” Around the Chinh Hòa era (1680–1705), he resigned from his post and then, disguised as a merchant, he voyaged to the South. Departing from the Lam River, travelling by boat through Chiêm Thành, Chân Lạp (Chenla), along the way he made observations of the mountains, rivers, seaways and drew several maps, which he brought back to the North, and offered his plan for an expedition to conquer the South in order to expand the Trịnh Lords’ southern borders. The Trinh Lord (Trịnh Căn) was delighted, had the maps filed in the royal archive and commandeered him to draw “Tứ chí lộ đồ.” Toàn tập Thiên Nam tứ chí lột đồ thư consists of four volumes; in each volume there are some maps with notes usually written on the left side or on top of the each of the maps. Toàn tập Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư, prepared by Đỗ Bà Công Đạo, and over time has been misplaced, sometimes attached to Hồng Đức bản đồ (recorded in “Toàn tập An Nam lộ đồ” kept at the Institute of Hán-Nôm Studies, Hà Nội, with registration number A2628), sometimes mistakenly titled “Toàn tập An Nam tứ chí lộ đồ” together with stories such as “Huyệt đất Cao Biền” (Feng shui of the land for Cao Biền’s tomb) and “Sự tích Tả Ao” (Story of Tả Ao). Currently, the collection of the Institute of Hán-Nôm Studies includes several versions of the map atlas by Đỗ Bá Công Đạo.

32  Historical data 9 Dư địa chí: volumes 1–5 of the 49 volumes of the encyclopaedic Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí by Phan Huy Chú, recording geographical data of our country throughout the successive dynasties. 10 Phan Huy Chú: alias Lâm Khanh, or Mai Phong; his family was originally from Thụ Hoạch village, District of Thiện Lộc, Province of Nghệ An; his great-great-grand father, named Cẩn, moved to Thụy Khuê village, Lật Sài canton, District of Yên Sơn, Greater District of Quốc Oai, Province of Sơn Tây. He was the son of Phan Huy Ích and was very intelligent during his young age, but he did not perform well at examinations. He participated in many examinations but only passed the examination for Tú Tài twice (1807, 1819). During the Nguyễn Dynasty, the examination system consisted of three levels: Thi Hương (Provincial Examination, organized in a number of selected provinces), Thi Hội (Nationl Examination, organized in the Capital City) and Thi Đình (Court Examination, organized in the royal court with the Emperor as Chief Examiner). Thi Hương had four tests; the candidates who passed only the first tests were granted the title of Tú Tài. Emperor Minh Mạng somehow heard about his knowledge and decided to nominate him as Editor to work at the National Historical Research. He was also nominated Vice-Ambassador and went to China twice (1824, 1830), and to Indonesia (1832, 1833). Thanks to his erudition, in his Dư địa chí, when he wrote about the Greater District of Tư Nghĩa, he did not forget to mention Paracel Islands. 11 Hoàng Việt địa dư chí: also called Minh Mạng geography book, with contents almost identical to Dư địa chí, but has a different structure and includes only two volumes instead of five volumes. 12 Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên or Liệt Thánh thực lục tiền biên (Chronicles of successive emperors), consisted of 13 volumes bound together in two portfolios, providing historical records of the period from the first Nguyễn Lord, Nguyễn Hoàng (Year of the Horse, 1558) to the 9th Nguyễn Lord, Nguyễn Phúc Thuần (Year of the Rooster, 1777), was completed and printed in the 4th Year of Thiệu Trị (1844). Đại Nam thực lục, prepared by the Nguyễn Dynasty’s National Historical Institute, with two parts Tiền biên and Chính biên, recording historical events under the reign of each Emperor, was ordered to be prepared by the historians of the National Historical Institute, and began with the 2nd Year of Minh Mạng (1821). 13 Đại Nam thực lục chính biên: the second part of the Đại Nam thực lục. Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ nhất kỉ (Part I), recording historical events during the reign of Emperor Gia Long, including the period when he was still a prince (1778), was completed in 1847, and engraved and printed in 1848. Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ nhị kỉ (Part II), recording the historical events during the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng, was completed in 1861, and engraved and printed in 1864. Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, đệ tam kỉ (Part III), recording history of the reign of Thiệu Trị, was engraved and printed in 1879. Today, only the original and translated (into Vietnamese) parts up to the reign of Đồng Khánh (1885–1888) are kept in Vietnam; the remaining parts being preserved in France. 14 Quốc triều chính biên toát yếu: set of chronicles derived from the main parts of the Quốc triều chính biên or of the Đại Nam thực lục chính biên by Quốc Sử Quán Triều Nguyễn. This set of chronicles were written in Chinese characters and presented chronologically from the reign of Emperor Gia Long. Quốc triều chính biên toát yếu was prepared by the Ministry of Education following order from Emperor Khải Định (1924), translated into Quốc ngữ (National language, i.e. our Roman alphabet-based modern Vietnamese script), and distributed to all schools with the following inscription in Quốc ngữ: Sử Quốc triều chính biên toát yếu (History: main parts of our dynasty summary chronicles). This set of history books was consisted of six volumes: Volume I: Nguyễn Vương thống nhất sơn hà (1761–1802) (Nguyễn Prince Unified the Country,1761–1802) Volume II: Thế Tổ Cao Hoàng Đế (1802–1820) (Emperor Gia Long, 1802–1820; posthumously named Emperor Thế Tổ Cao)

Historical data  33 Volume III: Thánh Tổ Nhân Hoàng Đế (1820–1841) (Emperor Minh Mạng, 1820– 1841, posthumously named Emperor Thánh Tổ Nhân) Volume IV: Hiến Tổ Chương Hoàng Đế (1841–1848) (Emperor Thiệu Trị, 1841–1848, posthumously named Emperor Hiến Tổ Chương) Volume V: Dực Tông Anh Hoàng Đế (1848–1884) (Emperor Tự Đức, 1848–1884, posthumously named Emperor Dực Tông Anh) Volume VI: Phế Đế Hiệp Hòa (1884) (Dethroned Emperor Hiệp Hòa,1884); Emperor Kiến Phúc, 1884–1885, posthumously named Giản Tông Nghi Hoàng Đế; Emperor Đồng Khánh, 1885–1888, posthumously named Emperor Cảnh Tông Thuần. 15 Đại Nam nhất thống chí: geography book set of 28 volumes, prepared by Quốc sử quán, engraved and printed in 1910. This multi-volume set was started in the 2nd Year of Tự Đức (1849), and completed in the 14th Year of Tự Đức (1861), but its contents were not very detailed and it was titled Đại Nam nhất thống dư đồ (Maps of the Unified Great Nam). In 1865, the whole set was rewritten, following the format of Nhất thống chí (Unified Gazetteer) of China’s Ching Dynasty. In the 35th Year of Tự Đức (1882), the manuscript of the Đại Nam nhất thống chí was completed with the contents covering events up to the 18th Year of Tự Dức (1865). However, after 1865, many important events occurred in the provinces and many loyalists lost their lives (resisting the French colonialists), and all of these things should be recorded. Emperor Tự Đức ordered that these events should be recorded up to the 34th Year of his reign (1881). However, these complementary contents were lost during the time of the July 5, 1885 event (the Fall of the Imperial City of Huế under French attack). During the reign of Emperor Thành Thái, the Quốc Sử Quán staff received orders to begin the compilation of the gazetteer again, still using the same title of Đại Nam nhất thống chí. The gazetteer was completed in the 3rd Year of Duy Tân (1910) with 17 volumes (for the 17 provinces of Central Vietnam), which was later called Géographie de Duy Tân by the French. Although the 17-volume set was completed in 1910, it reflected only events up to 1906. However, the gazetteer was still an updated version of the Đại Nam nhất thống chí completed in 1882. 16 Nguyễn Thông (1827–1894), alias Hi Phần, or Kì Xuyên, or Độn Am, was a native from Tân Thịnh village, District of Tân Bình, Province of Gia Định. In the 2nd Year of Tự Đức (1849), he passed the examination, obtaining the title of Cử Nhân (bachelor’s degree). He joined the public service and reach the rank of Bố Chánh. In 1876, he was assigned to be reviewer of the Khâm Định Việt sử thông giám cương mục (Imperially ordered annotated text completely reflecting the history of Việt). During the time of this assignment, he wrote the Việt sử cương giám khảo lược. Việt sử cương giám khảo lược consisted of seven volumes. The author had researched and used many Chinese historical documents related to the history of Vietnam as well as several Western scientific geographical documents. Volume I contained 43 articles with critical comments by the author. Volume II contained 174 articles with critical comments by the author. From Volume III to the end, each separated subject referred to many researched documents. 17 Cochinchine (French term) or Cochinchina (English term) was the place-name used for either Nam Hà or Đàng Trong during the Trịnh-Nguyễn era; it was also used for Nam Kì (during the French colonial administration). 18 Amphitrite: name of an European ship that was wrecked at Paracel Islands. This ship was carrying French merchants going to China in the XVII century. (See Journal de voyage aux Paracels, Jean Yves Claeys, Indochine, Hà Nội, no. 44–45, 1941.) 19 Thích Đại Sán: or Monk Thạch Liêm, or Đại Sán Hán Ông, a native of Zhejiang, was Residing Monk of the Trường Thọ Temple, Guangzhou, Province of Guangdong, China. He was invited by Lord Nguyễn Phúc Trăn (aka Lord Ngãi) to come and give sermon a couple of times. During the administration of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu, he came and lived in Nam Hà from the 29th day of the 1st month of the Year of the Pig

34  Historical data (1695) to the second half of the 6th month of the Year of the Rat (1696). He recorded his travel to Quảng Nam from the 8th month of the Year of the Dog (1694, or the 33rd Year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign) to around the 11th month of the Year of the Pig (1695, or the 34th Year of Emperor Kangxi‘s reign). In 1696, Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu ordered a Preface to be written for his book. Hải ngoại kỉ sự included six volumes, bound into two portfolios, currently kept at Đông Dương Văn Khố (Indochina Archives) in Japan, and at Quốc lập Trung ương đồ thư quán (National Central Maps and Books Store) in China. 20 This team (Hàn Chấn Hoa, Lâm Kim Chi, and Ngô Phượng Bân), co-authors of the Ngã quốc Nam Hải chư đảo sử liệu hội biên (Our country’s South Sea islands historical dumentary joint compilation), was ordered by the Government of China to produce the book. They said that the Vietnamese research studies regarding the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos were only “telling stories of deer to reach conclusion on gibbon.” In reality, what they have said were what they have done. The reason is simple: it was China, in 1898, and then in 1909, that confirmed that the Paracel Islands did not belong to China and were res nullius. In the future, whatever they say, what evidence or documents they refer to will be fabrications and falsehoods, only “telling stories of deer to reach conclusion on gibbon.”

3 Legal data

Legal dataLegal data

3.1  Monographic materials In addition to the Vietnamese official historical records already mentioned in Chapter  2, Vietnamese government documents, such as the red-marked royal records with legally binding instructions from the Nguyễn emperors, orders issued by the local authorities, as well as Vietnamese codification books of the royal court, all recorded very clearly the surveys and the planting of border markers, which had been ordered by Vietnam’s legal authorities to be carried out almost every year. These documents are also undisputable proofs of the establishment, affirmation and exercising of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands. 3.1.1 Red-marked royally reviewed records and Government documents The Nguyễn Dynasty’s red-marked royally reviewed records (XIX century) (from now on, referred to as “châu bản”)1 are very valuable documents, including reports, re-submitted reports from court mandarins of Ministries like Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Finance and other agencies or instructions of Nguyễn emperors regarding the exercise of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands, such as explorations, measurements, map creations and planting of sovereignty markers. There are also submitted reports revealing that such annual activities being suspended or carried out later than usual, e.g. in the 19th year of Minh Mạng’s reign (1838) these activities did not begin even late in the 4th month instead of late in the 3rd month, or in the 5th year of Thiêu Trị’s reign, there were instructions to suspend the explorations for 1846 and 1847. In the “châu bản” of the Nguyễn Dynasty (XIX century), we can find paragraphs mentioning very clearly about the affirmation and exercising of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands:

36  Legal data

•  Report Submitted by Thủ ngự 2 (Commander) of Seaport Đà Nẵng Nguyễn Văn Ngữ dated the 27th day of the 6th month of the 11th Year of Minh Mạng (1830) In this document, Đà Nẵng Seaport Commander reported that a French ship owner named D’Ochilie and a Vietnamese agent named Lê Quang Quỳnh, on their business trip to Luzon, their ship ran aground at the Paracel Islands. Thủ ngự Nguyễn Văn Ngữ, when informed about the incident, has dispatched some vessels to rescue them and their ship. Following is the translation of the original text in Chinese characters: Your Majesty’s humble servant, Nguyễn Văn Ngữ, Thủ ngự (Commander) of Seaport Đà Nẵng, prostrate myself a hundred times and respectfully report: At the hour of the tiger [i.e. 3:00–5:00 hours AM] of the 20th day of this month, the owner of a Phú Lãng Sa3 merchant ship named D’Ochilie and one agent named Lê Quang Quỳnh, sailed to Luzon4 for a business trip, which I had reported earlier. At the hour of the tiger of the 27th day, suddenly the First Officer Idoir with 11 sailors came in a light boat to our shore, and reported that at the Canh hai [In Vietnamese old time measurement system, a Canh 更 or Trống canh was equal to two hours; there were 5 Canh(s) in one night; Canh hai or Second Watch was for 21:00–23:00 hours PM] of the 21st day of this month, their ship ran aground west of Paracel Islands, and submerged in more than 8 metres of water (in old Vietnamese measurement system, 1 metre = 47 cm). They discussed the situation and decided to move two coffers of public money together with a number of tools, foods, got on two small boats and sailed back to the shore. The second boat carrying D’Ochilie, the agent, and the money has not come to the shore yet. I immediately dispatched patrol boats with some fresh water to search for them. I hereby report that we found D’Ochilie, the agent, 15 sailors at the hour of the horse [11:00–13:00 hours], and brought them back to the shore, people and money all safe. Agent Lê Quang Quỳnh said he was exhausted, and asked for a leave of a couple of days; after his recovery, he would come back to the capital city to continue his public service. I prepare and respectfully submit this report. I incessantly tremble in fear. Respectfully submitted. The 27th Day of the 6th Month of the 11th Year of Minh Mạng (1830) Your Majesty’s humble servant, Nguyễn Văn Ngữ, signed. [text] and Seal of Commander of Seaport Đà Nẳng

Legal data  37 Storage location: National Archive Center 1. Reference: Vol. 43, sheet 58. (See Biên giới lãnh thổ: www.biengioilanhthe.gov.vn of the National Borders Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Vietnam).

•  R  eport Submitted by Nội các5 of Nguyễn Dynasty dated of the 22nd Day of the 11th Month of the 14th Year of Minh Mạng (1833) Nội các reported that Mr. Phạm Văn Sênh (Sanh), after his tour of duty in Paracel Islands, had given an erroneous list of the tour participants resulting in some surplus of rewards. This surplus had not been paid and was quite small, therefore Nội các asked for an exempt from prosecution of Mr. Sênh. Following is the translation of the original text in Chinese characters:

Nội các reports: Prince Vĩnh Tường submitted a request for name. Nội các staff complied, and after carefully examined beautiful names for royal generations, and respectfully asked for a royal decree granting the word Hồng (洪) The Ministry of National Defense reports: The 3rd Company of the Bình Thuận Battalion has already been divided into 2 companies, but the Ministry still proposed to nominate Phan Văn Bình as Commanding Officer of the 3rd Company. This error is now detected, we recommend that the Ministry staff responsible for it be investigated and punished. . . . The Ministry of National Defense also reports: Previously based on the declaration of Phạm Văn Sênh, who had been sent to do a survey of Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands), there were a total of 19 sailors going with him on the trip. The Ministry, therefore, submitted a report recommending an award of 10 mai for Phạm Văn Sênh and a award of 1 mai for each of the 19 sailors. Now, Sênh re-examined the list and detected his error, just 18 sailors not 19. He dared not submit his application to claim the awards. The Ministry staff, who submitted the report to Nội vụ recommending these awards, had not reviewed the declaration carefully and thus had not detected the error. The Ministry now submits its request that this staff be punished. We respectfully asked for a royal decree: Phạm Văn Sênh submitted inaccurate declaration, the Ministry did not review carefully, resulting in a surplus of rewards; this is not acceptable. However, the

38  Legal data extra monetary award was not claimed, and it was not a big sum. We, therefore, are asking for an exemption from prosecution. Your Majesty’s humble servant Nguyễn Đức Hoạt obediently prepared this report. Your Majesty’s humble servant Hà Tông Quyền obediently proofread the report Your Majesty’s humble servant Thân Văn Quyền obediently reviewed the report and signed. Your Majesty’ humble servant, on duty, Trương Đăng Quế signed. Source: Nội các Storage Location: National Archive Center 1. Reference: Vol. 49, sheets 233–234. (See Biên giới lãnh thổ: www.biengioilanhtho.gov.vn of the National Borders Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Vietnam).

•  Order (Distributed Certificate) dated the 15th Day of the 4th Month of the 15th Year of Minh Mạng (1834) of the Bố Chánh, Án Sát of the Quảng Ngãi Province The Oder mentioned clearly name and native land of each of the soldiers obeying order from the royal court to join the Hoàng Sa militia, not only from the district-island of Lý Sơn, but also from other coastal areas of Quảng Ngãi Province. “Sailors: Name: Đề Phạm Vị Thanh, from An Hải ward Name: Trâm Ao Văn Trâm from East Lệ Thủy Name: Sơ Trần Văn Kham from An Vĩnh ward Name: Xuyên Nguyễn Văn Mạnh from An Hải ward Name: Lê Trần Văn Lê from Bản An hamlet Name: Doanh Nguyễn Văn Doanh from Thạch Ốc An Thạch village, Mộ Cách district. Two sailors from Kim Thương company: Vũ Văn Nội, Trương Văn Tài. This Order is an addition to the collection of historical documents affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands.

Legal data  39 It is also a valuable link to the system of valuable materials together with relics related to the Hoàng Sa militia, such as its recruitment, its rewarding ceremony, etc. demonstrating that for centuries the Vietnamese people have sailed the East Sea to plant sovereignty markers and to protect the sea and islands of our Fatherland. The Order consists of four pages, each pace is 36-cm long and 24-cm wide, with the following contents: Obeying the order, the Ministry has informed the province to assign in advance 3 big boats, keep them in good maintenance, and have them ready at the capital city. The envoy and the navy men are to come early to cooperate for a quick launch of the survey trip to Hoàng Sa. Obey the order! Obeying the order, provincial officials organized the ritual departure ceremony, rented 3 light and fast boats in the province, provided all necessary and well-maintained materials for the trip. They also ordered Vũ Văn Hùng, the person who had led the trip last year, to recruit more people from the coastal regions whe are knowledgeable of seafaring to serve as sailors on the boats, 8 persons for each boat, for a total of 24; all should be ready to sail out to the sea when the winds begin to blow in the good direction from the second half of the third month. Now, the preparations are done, and the Envoy has also arrived by boat. Based on appropriate selection criteria submitted by Vũ Văn Hùng, we proceed with the distribution of certificates to the sailors, beginning with Đặng Văn Xiểm responsible for the steering of the boats, leading all sailors, following the Envoy, the provincial soldiers and Vũ Văn Hùng to the Paracel Islands to carry out the public function. This trip has a very special importance, all of you must do your work to satisfaction. If you commit distraction and negligence, you will be punished. Listed below are all persons participating to this trip. The people responsible for steering the boats, Đặng Văn Xiểm, from An Hải ward, Bình Sơn district, and Dương Văn Đinh, from Hoa Diêm village, are hereby awarded certificates and obliged to carry out this order.” Introduced by Khôi Nguyên. Text preserved at the National Borders Committee. (See Biên giới lãnh thổ: www.biengioilanhtho.gov.vn of the National Borders Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Vietnam).

40  Legal data

•  Report Submitted by Nội các dated of the 13th Day of the 7th Month of the 16th Year of Minh Mạng (1835) In this submitted report, Nội các presented its recommendations for awards and punishments of the people who had been sent to Paracel Islands that year. Following is the translation of the original text in Chinese characters: Nội các respectfully reports: The Ministry of Finance submiitted a report on the damages inflicted on the summer harvest and recommended that the two provinces Hải Dương and Thái Nguyên be given some tax cuts. We obediently reviewed the report and found that the recommendation for tax cuts were appropriate according to past practice. We respectfully ask for a royal decree to approve the report. Hereattached also are three investigation reports from the provinces of Gia Định and Quảng Nam. We respectfully ask for a royal decree to transfer them to Tam pháp ti to investigate and report back later. A few days ago, Your Majesty’s Internal Servant Nguyễn Ân, taking order from Your Majesty, has asked us questions regarding the fact that people sent to Paracel Islands have come back late than expected. The Company Commander Phạm Văn Nguyên, with his people, having committed any wrongful dealings or not, must tell the truth. If they have, they should be delivered to the Ministry of Justice for a full investigation. If they have not, Phạm Văn Nguyên should be released immediately, not subjected to punishment with 80 strokes of the club, and reinstalled in his rank. The Giám thành6 (cartographer) who failed to draw a good map, subjected to punishment with 80 strokes of the club, is also to be realeased. Each of the person responsible for the steering of the boats was to receive a monetary award of 3 mais; each sailor/soldier 1 quan 貫. [Under Lê and Nguyễn dynasties, the basic units of Vietnamese currency were: Quan, Tiền and Đồng; 1 Quan = 10 Tiền = 600 Đồng.] Labor men (participating in this trip), if not having been already exempted from public works, are also to be awarded 1 quan. We, Your Majesty’s humble servants from Nội các, obediently examined the situation: Obeying Your Majesty’s previous order, the Ministries of Public Works and Justice have questioned the personnel sent to Paracel Islands. But when we asked the two Ministries they informed us that they had investigated and had not found any

Legal data  41 wrongdoing. We (Nội các) sent our staff Đỗ Bá Hồng to the Ministry of Justice to question those persons again and again but they still gave the same answers; furthermore they also gave complete guarantee that they had not done anything wrong. We, Your Majesty’s humble servants of Nội các, are submittting our complete report, and following Your Majesty’s order, are hereby transmitting the following instructions: Company Commander Phạm Văn Nguyên on mission to Paracel Islands was late in his return, and was subjected to punishment. But, through investigation, no proof of wrongdoing was found. Besides, his mission was accomplished thoughtfully, and he derserved to be awarded. However, after his return, Phạm Văn Nguyên appeared to be complacent, with inappropriate behaviour; for this, he was already removed from his position and shackled. Now, instead of being transferred to the Ministry to submit to punishment with 80 strokes of the club, we recomment that he be exempted from this punlishment and reinstalled in his position. The cartographers, Trần Văn Vân, Nguyễn Văn Tiến (Tiệm), Nguyễn Văn Hoằng, having delivered unclear maps, and being subjected to punishment with 80 strokes of the club, are also approved for exemption and to be released. Vũ Văn Hùng, and Phạm Văn Sênh (Sanh), responsible for the steering of the boats, are to receive monetary award of 3 mai. All soldiers participating in this tour of duty are awarded 1 quan, and released back to their old units. All civilian workers recruited by the province, except the two persons who have received monetary awards, are also awarded 1 quan each to show the royal court’s generosity and compassion. We also found that the civilian workers on this tour of duty have not been exempted from personal tax. Looking into the report from last year’s tour of duty, all civilian workers were awarded 1 quan. We, hereby, submit. . . . (The recto of the previous sheet, 8th line, eight words erased; of the next sheet, 3rd line, two words were erased; on the 4th line, two words were erased; on the 8th line, one word was erased. On the recto of the following sheet, on the 2nd line, 1 word erased; on the 3rd line, four words were erased; on the next sheet, on the 1st line, three words were erased: a total of 21 words were erased.) Your Majesty’s humble servant Nguyễn Đức Hoạt obediently prepared

42  Legal data Your Majesty’s humble servant Hà Tông Quyền obediently proofread Your Majesty’s humble servant Nguyển Văn proofread and signed Your Majesty’s humble servant Hà Duy Phiên, on duty, crossexamined and signed. Source: Nội các. Storage location: National Archive Center 1. Reference: Vol. 54, sheet 94. (See Biên giới lãnh thổ: www.biengioilanhtho.gov.vn of the National Borders Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Vienam).

•  Order dated the 18th Day of the 7th Month of the 16th Year of Minh Mạng (1835) In Volume 54 of the “châu bản” collections for Minh Mạng’s reign, page 92, one paragraph is written as follows: Emperor Minh Mạng issued an Order for the Ministry of Public Works to subject Paracel Islands militia Company Commander Phạm Văn Nguyên to punishment with 80 strokes of the club for his delay in carrying out his duty, to subject cartographers Trần Văn Vân, Nguyễn Văn Tiến (Tiệm), Nguyễn Văn Hoằng also to punishment with 80 strokes of the club for not completing the maps of Paracel Islands, to reward Vũ Văn Hùng, Phạm Văn Sênh (Sanh) 1 quan each person for the navigation of the boats to Paracel Islands.

•  Re-Submitted Report of the Ministry of Public Works dated the 12th Day of the 2nd Month of the 17th Year of Minh Mạng (1836) In Volume 55 of the “châu bản” collections for Minh Mạng’s reign, page 336, there is one red-inked royal comment by Emperor Ming Mạng as follows: Each boat, in exploration of Paracel Islands, must bring along 10 wooden markers, 4.5-m long, 0.5-meter wide, with the engraved inscription: Year of Bính Thân (17th Year of Minh Mạng), full name of company commander of naval force obeying order to do the survey, and to plant markers in Paracel Islands to leave a marking.” The Emperor also gave the following order: “everywhere the boats go, you must plant markers to leave a marking”.

Legal data  43 The re-submitted report also mentioned: “Company Commander Phạm Hữu Nhật was sent from Thuận An to Quảng Ngãi to participate in the tour of duty in Paracel Islands.”

• Report submitted by the Ministry of Finance, part of ­ Red-Inked Royal Records of Nguyễn Dynasty, dated the 11th Day of the 7th Month of the 18th Year of Minh Mạng (1837) The Ministry of Finance asked for five days for the verification of the report from Quảng Ngãi provincial official regarding the hiring civilian workers to be sent to a tour of duty in Paracel Islands, and also asked for permission to make payments. Following is the translation of the original text in Chinese characters: The Ministry of Finance reports: The Provinces of Bắc Ninh, Hải Dương and Thái Nguyên all have submitted reports presenting the prices of rice in the month, with reports on the meteorological conditions and agricultural activities attached. We respectfully ask for a royal decree. [Châu phê = Red-marked royal comment]: I know already. Obey the order ! We also hereby submit the report from the Province of Sơn Tây asking for permission to pay in money and rice for the creation of the labels for Đằng bài (dây roi = whip), Bài đao (dao = knife), Phác đao (dao mác = machete). We also hereby submit the report from the Province of Quảng Ngãi presenting the hiring of the civilian workers in the tour of duty in Paracel islands and asking for permission to make payments in money and rice. Regarding this demand, we are asking for 5 days to investigate and will report back. Your Majesty’s humble servant Nguyễn Đắc Trí obediently pepared. Your Majesty’s humble servants Đào Chí Phủ and Nguyễn Đắc Trí obediently proofread. Source: Ministry of Finance. Storage location: National Archive Center 1.

44  Legal data (See Biên giới lãnh thổ: www.biengioilanhtho.gov.vn of the National Borders Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Vietnam).

• Report submiitted by the Ministry of Public Works dated the 13th Day of the 7th Month of the 18th Year of Minh Mạng (1837) The Ministry of Public Works submitted the report asking for exempt of prosecution for cartographer Trương Viết Soái, who had been on many tours of duty to Paracel Islands. This official had committed a crime, for which the punishment would be decapitation, but his trial was delayed until autumn. The Emperor agreed and gave the red-inked royal comment as follows: reduce his rank to simple soldier, waiting for next assignment. Following is the translation of the original text in Chinese characters: The Ministry of Public Works reports: Navy man Phạm Văn Biện, sent from the naval unit of the capital city, scouts Vũ Văn Hùng and Phạm Văn Sênh, steering man Lưu Đức Trực sent from the province, after their tour of duty in Paracel Islands, having come back late, were all reprimanded and subjected to punishmen by beating. All civilian and military personnel on tour of duty (2 boats from Quảng Ngãi, and 2 boats from Bình Định) were released back to their units or their homes. Our Ministry staff investigated last year’s tour, found that the tour commander, the scout sent to Paracel Islands did not bring back any map and were reprimanded and punished; the soldiers and civilian workers all were awarded, the soldiers one month salary each, and the workers 2 quan each. For this tour of duy, except for the 4 persons (Phạm Văn Biện and 3 others) who were already punished and for whom there is no need for additional deliberation, all civilian and military accompanying personnel, based on past practice, need to be rewarded, but the award should be decided by Your Majesty, we dare not deliberate. There is only one issue remained to be solved: cartographer Trương Viết Soái having committed lèse-majesté. He was ordered last year and the year before to go on tour of duty in Paracel Islands, on his return did not bring back any maps. Complying to Your Majesty’s instruction, we have delayed his punishment by decapitation. We now respectfully ask for your new instruction regarding this official.

Legal data  45 Red-marked royal comment: reduce his rank to simple soldier, waiting for next assignment. Your Majesty’s humble servant Nguyễn Văn Hựu obediently prepared. Your Majesty’s humble servants Hà Duy Phiên and Lý Văn Phức obediently proofread. Source: Ministry of Public Works. Storage location: National Archive Center 1. Reference: Volume 57, sheet 244. (See Biên giới lãnh thổ: www.biengioilanhtho.gov.vn of the National Borders Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Vietnam).

In Volume 57 of the “châu bản” collections for Minh Mạng’s reign, there is one paragraph mentioning that the royal court had previously sent navy men, cartographers, civilian and military personnel from the two provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định to go to Paracel Islands to do the measurements, planting markers, drawing maps. There were royal instructions to punish the four persons committing crimes (Phạm Văn Biện, Vũ Văn Hùng, Phạm Văn Sênh and Lưu Đức Trực) and to reward the civilian and military accompanying personnel for their hard work, one month salary for each soldier, and 2 quan for each civilian worker.

• Report submitted by the Ministry of Public Works dated the 2nd Day of the second (leap) 4th Month of the 19th Year of Minh Mạng (1838) In Volume 68 of the “châu bả n” collections for Minh Ma·ng’s reign, page 21, the Ministry of Public Works submitted its report to the Emperor dated the 2nd Day of the second (leap) 4th Month of the 19th Year of Minh Ma·ng asking for a delay of the exploration date aimed at measuring the perimeter of Paracel Islands this year because the easterly wind was blowing continuously with heavy rains. Following is the translation of the original text in Chinese characters: The Ministry of Public Works reports: Obeying Your Majesty’s order regarding this year’s tour of duty in Paracel Islands, the Ministry staff have discussed and asked for Your Majesty’s

46  Legal data permission to launch the tour in the seond-half of the 3rd month to do measurements for the whole area and to return in the seond-half of the 6th month. We have copied Your Majesty’s approval and sent it to the two Provinces of Bình Định and Quảng Ngãi, instructing them to prepare for the tour, to select guards, cartographers, waiting for navy men and boats who had already been sent from the capital. Now, we have received a report from the Province of Quảng Ngãi responding to our requests point by point as follows: the navy men and boats sent from the capital arrived on the 21st day of the 3rd month; civilian boats of the Province of Bình Định also arrived on the 3rd day of the 4th month; scout Phạm Văn Sênh also arrived on the 9th day of the same month. According to the detailed presentation of the Envoy, the easterly wind was blowing continuously from the 10th day to the 26th day of the 4th month, making the launching of the voyage impossible. The Provincial Commander also made the same observation and insisted that we should wait until the southernly wind began to blow to launch the boats. He also promised to continue to report on the situation. The Ministry staff obediently conclude: the voyage for surveying the Paracel Islands has been ordered to be launched in the second-half of the 3rd month, but the wind direction and the sea conditions have been inappropriate, and the launch of the tour could not be done even in the second-half of the 4th month, and thus, the deadline has been missed. Based on these facts, we hereby humbly submit our report on the situation. Your Majesty’s humble servant Lê Văn Côn obediently prepared. Your Majesty’s humble servants Hà Duy Phiên and Phạm Thế Trung obediently proofread. Source: The Ministry of Public Works. Storage location: National Archive Center 1. Reference: Volume 68, sheet 21. (See Biên giới lãnh thổ: www.biengioilanhtho.gov.vn of the National Borders Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Vietnam).

• Report submitted by the Ministry of Public Works dated the 21st Day of the 6th Month of the 19th Year of Minh Mạng (1838) Following is the translation of the original text in Chinese characters: The Ministry of Public Works reports: We hereby acknowledge the return of agent Đỗ Mậu Thưởng, royal guard Lê Trọng Ba, and our Ministry’s personnel (on tour of duty in

Legal data  47 Paracel Islands). Our Ministry staff have questioned and learned from them that, during this tour, they were able to reach 25 islands in the 3rd zone (in previous years our men had reached only 12 islands,7 never a 13th one). But according to the guide, Vũ Văn Hùng, the whole area of the Paracel Islands consisted of 4 zones. This time we were able to survey the 3rd zone; thus, one more zone still remains to be surveyed, but is is quite far from the 3rd zone, and the southerly wind is strong, going there is quite difficult; if we wait until having the appropriate wind it will be too late; we’d better wait until next year. We have also found that the 4 new maps brought back by the group, together with one diary, need to be reviewed. We, therefore, ask for some time fo review them and to have them improved and completed before we submit them for Your Majesty’s review and approval. Your Majesty’s humble servants hereby submit our general report. Your Majesty’s humble servant Thang Huy Thận obediently prepared. Your Majesty’s humble servants Hà Duy Phiên and Lý Văn Phức obediently proofread. Source: The Ministry of Public Works. Storage location: National Archive Center 1. Reference: Volume 68, sheet 215. (See Biên giới lãnh thổ: www.biengioilanhtho.gov.vn of National Borders Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Vietnam).

• Report submitted by Bố Chánh sứ of the Province of Quảng Ngãi dated the 19th Day of the 7th Month of the 19th Year of Minh Mạng (1838) In Volume 64 of the “châu bản” collections for Minh Mạng’s reign, page 146, there is a paragraph as follows: on the 19th Day of the 7th Month of the 19th Year of Minh Mạng, Bố Chánh sứ (title of the second-in-command government official of a large province responsible for administrative, vital statistics and financial affairs) of the Province of Quảng Ngãi, Đặng Đức Thiệm, submitted a report asking for one-year tax exemption for the four boats that had carried civilian and military personnel to Paracel Islands to make measurements of the perimeters of the islands from the second-half of the 3rd month to the second-half of the 6th month. The text recorded clearly the names of the boat owners and the monetary value of the tax exemption. Following is the translation of the original text in Chinese characters: Bố Chánh sứ of the Province of Quảng Ngãi, Đặng Đức Thiệm, who has been recognized for merits seven times, respectfully submits this report, asking for tax exemption for the boats hired to carry out public service.

48  Legal data In the 1st month of this year, we received an order to send people to Paracel Islands to perform work for the Ministry of Public Works, in which there was a section as follows: This year’s mission to Paracel Islands to survey and make measurements for the whole area, would be between the second-half of the 3rd month and the second-half of the 6th month; when finished, the team would return directly to the capital city via Thuận An estuary. The Ministry staff also sent an order to us, provincial officials, instructing us to hire, and put in service 2 boats together with sailors and civilian workers to make preparations for the trip. Obeying Your Majesty’s order, this time I have hired 2 large boats from our province and 2 boats from the Province of Bình Định, which were anchored in our port at the time, and arranged for them to go with the Envoy to Paracel Islands to carry out the mission. Now the boats have returned, I am asking for a tax exemption of this year for the boats. Boat taxing is a very important issue, and I am submitting this full report, respectfully hoping for Your Majesty’s approval. I am respectfully submitting the following listing of the boat specifications, their annual tax, and the owners’ full names and birthplaces: •  Name: Tín, a.k.a. Nguyễn Văn Chòm, born in a year of Bính Ngọ (Year of the Horse), 53 years old, from Phổ An hamlet, Nghĩa Hà canton, Chương Nghĩa district, Tư Nghĩa greater district. One large boat (registration number 22), 2-trượng-1- thước long, 6-thước-7-tấc wide, 2-thước-1-tấc deep. Annual tax: 20 quan. Name: Ân, a.k.a. Trần Văn Đức, born in a year of Can Tí (Year of •  the Rat), from the village of. . . . One large boat (registration number 89), 2-trượng-1-tấc long, 6-thước-7-tấc wide, 2-thước-3tấc deep. Annual tax: 15 quan. [Submitted report] sent on the 19th Day of the 7th Month of the 19th Year of Minh Mạng (1838), received on the 4th Day of the 8th Month. Your Majesty’s humble servants Hà Duy Phiên, Vũ Đức Khuê, Phan Thanh Giản, Đoàn Khiêm Quang obediently convey Your Majesty’s royal decree: Submitted report approved. Obey the order! Your Majesty’s humble servant Đặng Đức Thiệm, signed. Source: Bố Chánh sứ of the Province of Quảng Ngãi. Storage location: National Archive Center 1. Reference: Volume 64, sheets 146–147.

Legal data  49 (See Biên giới lãnh thổ: www.biengioilanhtho.gov.vn of the National Borders Committee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Vietnam.)

In addition, we also found a number of re-submitted reports, and submitted reports of equal importance but unfortunately, the poor conditions of the documents did not allow us the read the complete document such as the following document.

•  R  e-submitted report of the Ministry of Public Works dated the 20th Day of the 1st Month of the 7th Year of Thiệu Trị (1847) regarding the suspension of the surveying tour in Paracel Islands In Volume 41 of the “châu bản” collections for Thiêu Trị’s reign, page 83, there is a paragraph as follows: “in the 6th Month of the 5th Year of Thiệu Trị (1845); on the 26th Day of the 1st Month of the 7th Year of Thiệu Trị (1947): issued edict regarding the suspension of the survey of Paracel Islands. Now, re-­submitted report asking if the survey tour in Paracel Islands this year is to be carried out or not?” Red-marked royal comment: “Suspended.”

• Report submitted by the Ministry of Public Works dated the 28th Day of the 12th Month of the 7th Year of Thiệu Trị (1847) In Volume 51 of the “châu bản” collections for Thiệu Trị’s reign, page 235, there is a paragraph as follows: “Every year, in the spring, following past practice, navy boats are sent to explore Paracel Islands, which belong to our government’s seaports, to keep familiar with the seaways.”

3.1.2  Codification books and laws of the royal court Codification books (Sách điển chế, or đại điển or chính điển) are books that recorded all regulations, standards and data and facts related to the organization and activities of the royal court, and of the government. Under the Trần Dynasty we had Hoàng triều đại điển (Royal court great codification book) prepared by Trương Hán Siêu and Nguyễn Trung Ngạn; under the Lê Dynasty we had Quốc triều hội điển (Our Dynasty comprehensive codification book) prepared during the years of Vĩnh Hựu (1735–1740) and Quốc triều chính điển lục (Our Dynasty principal codification book) prepared by Bùi Huy Bích.

50  Legal data Khâm định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ is the most voluminous codification book ever, consists of 262 volumes with more than 8,000 pages of manuscript, prepared by Nội các following royal instruction in the 3rd Year of Thiệu Trị (1843), completed in the 4th Year of Tự Đức (1851). The inscription and printing of this codification book was completed in 1868. It was reprinted in 1886 for distribution in the Northern provinces. In the Khâm định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ, Volume 221 has the following information related to Paracel Islands: In the 17th Year of Minh Mạng (1836), the Emperor gave royal approval for this submitted report statement: Paracel Islands belong to the very important sea area. In the 15th Year of Minh Mạng, soldiers, sailors and cartographers were sent to this area for exploration, but, due to strong winds and floods, the survey was not accurately done. Last year, people were sent there again and they have built shrines and erected memorial steles. Maps were created but more need to be done. More explorations also need to be carried out for the whole area. Now we need to give instructions to the provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định, following past practice, to hire civilian boats and workers, and send them together with soldiers, navy men and cartographers on a blackpainted big boat to Paracel Islands. Everywhere the boats can reach, measurements should be taken for the dimensions (length, width, height, and perimeter) of the islands, and the sea depths of all four sides. Observations should also be made regarding reefs, submerged rocks, dangerous features; everything should be measured carefully and maps should be drawn. Attention should be paid for departure point from which estuary to destination, direction and navigation to the destination, to determine the length of the voyage. It is also important to know which in-land province is closest to the destination and how far is the distance from the shore to that location. Everything should be recorded clearly on maps to be submitted. And, from next year on, when comes the second-half of the first month, following the past practice, the trip will be repeated. This is a text having a great value in terms of historical and legal significance, in which the Government of Vietnam in the XIX century, affirmed very clearly the following: •

•

In the 17th Year of his reign (1836), Emperor Minh Mạng approved of the statement in the submitted report from the Ministry of Public Works: “Paracel Islands are in a very important sea area.” Emperor Minh Mạng and the royal court at the beginning of the XIX century had a strategic view of the Paracel Islands’ location in this sea area. Today, of course, everyone can see that the Paracel Islands are very important militarily, economically and politically in the general regional and world situation. But the leaders at the beginning of the XIX century could have that vision really deserve our deep respect. Once having established the strategic view of the important location of the Paracel Islands the Emperor has taken a resolute approach: “And, from next

Legal data  51 year on, when comes the second-half of the first month, following the past practice, the trip will be repeated.” The establishment of the annual practice revealed the Emperor’s resolute stand on the importance of the Paracel Islands and led to the decision to plant sovereignty markers later. We can say that during that period of time, Emperor Minh Mạng was probably the only ruler of the countries in East or South East Asia, who considered the exercise of sovereignty over these islands an important issue (this attitude was probably formed under the influence of the Western naval specialists like Dayot, Chaigneau, who had served under Emperor Gia Long). •

The text also contains a lot of information regarding the activities of the Royal Navy of the Nguyễn Dynasty on duty in the Paracel Islands area: the participating forces, origins of the sailors, the survey measurements, the navigational directions taken, etc. and the maps submitted to the Emperor.

Putting together all information from the “châu bản,” official correspondence of local and central governments, and the codification books, we learned the following: •

•

•

•

First of all, because of the war and social unrest, many “châu bản” have been lost, damaged, old maps are now almost non-existent; however, we still have in our possession a number of those “châu bản” of Nguyễn Dynasty, and more and more local texts have been discovered, such as the case of the Order discovered in Quảng Ngãi. From 1836 to 1847, the practice of annual sending of naval forces to perform explorations, measurements, map drawing, sovereignty markers planting during the reigns of Minh Mạng and Thiệu Trị was carried out for more than ten years in a row. The period of time for these tours of duty in Paracel Islands was recorded very clearly: “This year (1838), the schedule for the tour of duty in Paracel Islands to do the survey, measurements and map drawing of the whole area is determined from the second-half of the 3rd month to the second-half of the 6th month; when the mission is accomplished, the team should go back directly to the capital through Thuận An estuary.” The schedule might not be kept as such because of the weather. For example, also in 1838: “the tour for surveying the Paracel Islands has been clearly determined to be launched in the second-half of the 3rd month, but the wind direction and the sea conditions have been inappropriate, and the launch of the tour could not be done even in the second-half of the 4th month, and thus, the deadline has been missed.” The personnel of these tours of duty in Paracel Islands always consisted of the following: • •

Some navy force unit headed by a company commander. Two or three cartographers + some royal guards sent from the capital.

52  Legal data • • •

Soldiers  +  civilian workers  +  boats and crews sent by the two Provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định (usually 2 large boats from Quảng Ngãi + 2 boats from Bình Định). Guide with good knowledge of the Paracel Islands area (during that time: Vũ Văn Hùng). The civilian workers were paid by the royal court with money and rice.

Previously the Paracel Islands militia, while on tour of duty in these islands, had consisted of 70 persons. Now, with the naval force unit supported by regional soldiers from Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định, plus civilian workers, boat crews and guide, the total personnel of the tour would have been probably the same. We only know for certain that in one tour of duty, the number of civilian workers acting as sailors being rewarded was 19 persons; the persons responsible for the steering of the boats were often selected among those with a lot of experience of seafaring to Paracel Islands. •

•

The number of islands, beaches where sovereignty markers were planted might be in the hundreds because there were four boats for each tour and, according to the red-inked royal comment by Emperor Minh Mạng on the resubmitted report from the Ministry of Public Works dated the 12th Day of the 2nd Month of the 17th Year of Minh Mạng (1836), “Each boat, in exploration of Paracel Islands, must bring along 10 wooden markers, 4.5-thước long, 5-tấc wide, with the engraved inscription: Year of Bính Thân (17th Year of Minh Mạng), full name of company commander of naval force (in this case: Phạm Hữu Nhật) obeying order to do the survey, and to plant markers in Paracel Islands to leave a trace.” Because of its important and sensitive location, the Paracel Islands received special attention from the Emperor himself as well as from the high-ranking court mandarins of the three Ministries of Public Works, National Defense and Justice.

Firstly, for those tour participants who did not accomplish their missions, or who did not serve effectively, or who committed dishonest acts, or did nor return on pre-scheduled date, etc. the punishments were severe. Following are some examples: •

•

Phạm Văn Sênh, commanding navy men, returing from duty tour in Paracel Islands (1833), having reported inaccurately the number of people involved in the tour, creating a surplus in the rewards, was prosecuted by the Ministry of Justice. However, since the surplus was small and was not claimed, the Nội các asked for an exemption from prosecution for him. Company Commander Phạm Văn Nguyên, after his duty tour in Paracel Islands, returned late and past the dealine. Although he had accomplished his mission, and deserved a reward, but there were royal instructions for the Ministry of Public Works to punish him by having him shackled and removed

Legal data  53

•

from his position. After his return, Phạm Văn Nguyên also appeared complacent and having inappropriate behaviour, and thus, was subjected to punishment with 80 strokes of the club. But he was later given exemption from prosecution and reinstalled in his position. Cartographers such as Trần Văn Vân, Nguyễn Văn Tiệm and Nguyễn Văn Hoằng, who had submitted unclear and incomplete maps, were all subjected to punishment with 80 strokes of the club, but were later also given exemption from prosecution.

The legal system imposed severe punishments from a variety of petty crimes such as working ineffectively, late return, and inappropriate behaviour to more serious crimes such as possible corruption, and dishonest acts. It was really setting good example for the management of the governmental machinery. Secondly, while always imposing severe punishments towards government officials, the royal court was specially compassionnate and showing favour to the civilan workers, the soldiers, and the guide on the duty tour in Paracel Islands. These persons, on each tour, even in tours having government officials prosecuted, were always rewarded for their hard work and endurance. For example, the persons responsible for the steering of the boats, a total of 19, were given monetary award of “one mai.” The guide, Vũ Văn Hùng, was rewarded with “3 mai.” In another case, “also found that the civilian workers on this tour of duty have not been exempted from personal tax. Looking into the report from last year’s tour of duty, all civilian workers were awarded 1 quan.” In 1836, the government officials such as the tour commander, the guide, after the duty tour in Paracel Islands, returned without the required maps were reprimanded and punished while the soldiers were given one month salary and the civilian workers were given monetary award of 2 quan. When commandeering civilian and private boats needed for the Paracel Islands duty tour, the royal court always had policy of tax exemption. For example, in 1838, “Bố Chánh sứ of the Province of Quảng Ngãi, Đặng Đức Thiệm, who has been recognized for merits seven times, respectfully submits this report, asking for tax exemption for the boats hired to carry out public service.” “Obediently commandeering 2 large boats, and asking for 35 quan-tax exemption for them.” In Volume 51 of the “châu bản” collections for Thiệu Trị’s reign, page 235, there is a paragraph dated the 28th Day of the 12th Month of the 7th Year of Thiệu Trị (1847): “Every year, in the spring, following past practice, navy boats belonging to the port authority are sent to explore Paracel Islands, to maintain familiarity with the seaways.” And then, also in the same year, “re-submitted report asking if the survey tour in Paracel Islands this year is to be carried out or not?” Red-inked royal comment: “Suspended.” Thus, for various reasons such as the royal court being too busy with other affairs, or the weather conditions being unfavourable, the duty tours in Paracels Island could be delayed or postponed. For example, because of Emperor Thiệu Trị’s death in 1847, the tour was postponed until the following year under his successor, Emperor Tự Đức. The Lễ khao lề thế lính Hoàng Sa was organized in

54  Legal data Lý Sơn Island for the first time under Emperor Tự Đức. The Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, official historical records completed under Emperor Tự Đức, did not record what had become past practice, thus, did not mention anything about the duty tours in Paracel Islands, which had become past practice since 1836. No “châu bản” of Emperor Tự Đức’s reign has ever been found. However, the Đại Nam nhất thống chí, printed under Emperor Duy Tân (1819), still mentioned duty tours in Paracel Islands. Preserved government documents as well as codification books of the Government of Vietnam produced during the first-half of the XIX century provided objective, solid, undeniable proofs of Vietnam’s real possession of Paracel Islands, which, during that period of time, was considered as an archipelago extending from North to South in the East Sea. In addition to government documents (e.g. “châu bản”), or orders by local government officials, Vietnam also possessed numerous official historical records, unofficial documents, gazetteers and survey maps with information on Paracel Islands covering a much longer period of time, including many dynastic eras, and with many details of other events and incidents.

3.2  Cartographic materials 3.2.1  Vietnamese gazetteers Chapter 2 has already given a very detailed study of the various gazetteers that Lê and Nguyễn Dynasties have produced through the ages. All of them had sections and/or paragraphs on Paracel and Spratly Islands. Following is a summary of information about the relevant contents of these gazetteers: • •

Lê Dynasty: • 1686: Thiên Nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư prepared by Ðỗ Bá Công Đạo; section on Quảng Ngãi Province has some indication of Bải Cát Vàng (or Hoàng Sa, i.e. Paracel Islands) • 1776: Phủ biên tạp lục by Lê Qúy Ðôn provides detailed description of Paracel Islands and activities of the Hoàng Sa Militia Nguyễn Dynasty: • 1821: Dư địa chí, Volumes 1–5 of the 49-volume encyclopaedic Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí prepared by Phan Huy Chú, has a section on Quảng Nam Province dealing mostly with the Paracel Islands • 1833: Hoàng Việt Ðịa dư chí by anonymous author; also has one section on the Paracel Islands • 1882: Ðại Nam nhất thống chí by Quốc Sử Quán Triều Nguyễn, Volume 6 has two paragraphs on Paracel and Spratly Islands

We will take a deeper, much more detailed look at this issue of maps and map drawing in the next chapter.

Legal data 55 3.2.2  Chinese maps Pre-1909 maps of China drawn by the Chinese all noted clearly that the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos (called Tây Sa – Western Sandbanks – and Nam Sa – Southern Sandbanks – by the Chinese) had never belonged to China. After having reviewed all pre-1909 maps of China, one finds that all of them, drawn by the Chinese themselves, did not include the Tây Sa or Nam Sa archipelagos or any islands that could be considered by the Chinese as Tây Sa or Nam Sa. All of them affirmed that Hainan Island was the southernmost point of the Chinese territory. Following are a number of typical pre-1909 Chinese maps: Dư địa đồ (Geographical maps) by Chu Tư Bản of the Yuan Dynasty was reduced in size and printed in Quảng dư đồ (Large regions maps) by La Hồng Tiên, Volume 1, 1561. • Thiên hạ thống nhất chi đồ (Unified world maps) of the Ming Dynasty, in Đại Minh Nhất thống chí (Gazetteer of the Unified Great Ming), Volume 1, 1461. • Hoàng Minh đại thống nhất tổng đồ (General map of the Unified Great Royal Ming) of the Ming Dynasty, in Hoàng Minh chức phương địa đồ (Royal Ming local maps) by Trần Tổ Thụ, Upper volume, 1635. • Lộ phủ châu huyện đồ (Maps of regions, provinces and districts) of the Yuan Dynasty, re-drawn in Kim cổ dư đồ (Modern and ancient maps) by Nguyễn Quốc Phụ of the Ming Dynasty, Lower volume, 1638. • Hoàng triều phủ sảnh châu huyện toàn đố (Royal court complete maps of regions, provinces and districts) of the Qing Dynasty, by unknown author, 1862, re-drawn based on Nội phủ địa đồ (Internal provincial maps), consisted of 26 sheets called Đại Thanh trực tỉnh toàn đồ (Complete maps of provinces of the Great Qing). • Hoàng triều nhất thống dư địa tổng đồ (General map of the Unified Royal Court), 1894. .• Hoàng triều trực tỉnh địa dư toàn đồ (Complete maps of the provinces of the royal court) belonging to the set of independent maps, each printed on separate sheet of large size (115 cm x 140 cm) for a total of about 60 sheets, 1904; they are recently discovered and made public by Dr. Mai Hồng. • Đại Thanh đế quốc (Great Qing Empire), in the set of Đại Thanh đế quốc toàn đồ (Complete maps of the Great Qing Empire) printed by Thượng Hải Thương Vụ ấn thư quán (Shanghai Trading Affairs Book Publishing House), 1905; its 4th edition was published in 1910. • Đại Thanh đế quốc vi trí khu hoạch đồ (Zoning and planning maps of Great Qing), 1909. The Quảng Đông tỉnh đồ (Map of the province of Guangdong) in the Quảng Đông dư địa toàn đồ (Complete maps of the province of Guangdong) prepared by the officials of the Province of Guangdong in 1897, with the Preface written by the Provincial Governor Trương Nhân Tuấn, did not include any island in the East Sea. •

56  Legal data Thus, before 1909, the Southern frontier of China has never extended beyond Hainan Island. After 1909, many maps of China did include Tây Sa and Nam Sa as parts of the Chinese territory. Among them, the Trung Quốc cương giới biến thiên đồ (Variable frontier map of China), printed in 1939, extended China’s frontier under the Qing Dynasty to Indonesia and Korea. Besides, a number of old documents referred to by the Chinese to demonstrate their early discovery (of the islands) (in reality, this is only a baseless deduction aimed to demonstrate China’s sovereignty) were all documents regarding foreign countries such as Giao Châu dị vật chí (Gazetteer of strange objects of Giao Châu). Giao Châu, ancient name of Vietnam, was only under Chinese rule for a short period of time. Similarly, Chư phiên chí (Gazetteer of foreign countries adjacent to China) by Triệu Nhữ Quát (not Triệu Nhữ Thích) of Southern Sung Dynasty (1225) did mention Thiên Lý Trường Sa or Vạn Lý Thạch Đường, but it indicated clearly that these areas were in Phiên Quốc (i.e. Foreign countries adjacent to China) and not in China. Old Chinese documents also referred to Phù Nam truyện (Stories from Phù Nam) by Khang Thái (from the State of Ngô of the Three Kingdoms era), Nam Châu dị vật chí (Gazetteer of strange objects of Nam Châu) by Vạn Chấn (of Ngô era). Chư phiên đố (Maps of foreign countries adjacent to China) of the Sung Dynasty determined that China had Southern frontier along Giao Dương or Giao Chỉ Dương. Giao Chỉ Dương or Sea of Giao Chỉ was the name at that time of the Gulf of Tonkin while the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos were far away in the South. Thus, the aforementioned old Chinese documents have indirectly demonstrated that the Paracel and Spratly Islands, which China later called Tây Sa and Nam Sa, had never belonged to China, but had belonged to the foreign countries that China used to call Phiên Quốc (Giao Châu, Nam Châu). It is difficult to have an exhaustive list of all Western and Vietnamese documents and maps which recorded clearly that Vietnam’s sovereignty has been exercised continuously and peacefully from the beginning of the XVII century to the beginning of the XIX century over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. Only China, since 1909, considered the islands as “res nullius” so that they could claim sovereignty over them. In fact, objective Western documents and even Chinese documents all demonstrated clearly that the Paracel Islands were a chain of small islands extending from north to south that include the Spratly Islands (called Bắc Hải by Vietnam at that time). The Paracel Islands, called Cát Vàng, or Kát Vàng or Cồn Vàng (in Vietnamese), were also confirmed by Westerners as such. The Paracels, having previously belonged to Nam Hà, as confirmed by the Westerners, were described in many geography books, and encyclopaedias of world geography. After Vietnam was reunified at the beginning of the XIX century, Western documents also confirmed that, from 1816, the Paracel archipelago officially belonged to the government of the reunified Vietnam.

Legal data  57

Notes 1 “Châu bản” (red-marked royally-reviewed records): these were texts, reports submitted by the court mandarins from various ministries, or by provincial/regional government agencies which had been read or sanctioned by the emperor with red-inked royal stamp or seal. There are four types of “royal sanction”: châu phê (red-marked royal comment), châu điểm (red-marked royal mark), châu khuyên (red-marked royal circling) and châu mạt (red-marked royal deletion). The Nguyễn Dynasty books of “châu bản” included these: sắc dụ (decree-laws), chiếu dụ (decrees) and all kinds of archived government correspondence, reports, inventories and diplomatic correspondence. These were the official correspondence of the royal court of the Nguyễn Dynasty archived by the offices of the emperors, which had changed their name many times: Thị thư viện, Thị hàn viện, Nội hàn viện and Thượng bảo ti under Gia Long Emperor (1802–1820), Văn thư phòng (combining all of the four offices under Gia Long) in the first year of Minh Mang’s reign (1820), and changed to Nội các from the 10th year of Minh Mạng’s reign (1829). In the 17th year of Minh Mạng’s reign (1836), the Nguyễn dynasty built the Đông Các (East Tower) behind the Tả Vu (Left Wing) of the Cần Chánh Palace to keep and store all “châu bản.” In 1942, all deposited “châu bản” were moved to Viện Văn Hóa (The Cultural Institute; during Emperor Bảo Đại’s reign) and began to be inventoried and classified. During the period of resistance against the French (1946–1954), the preservation of these “châu bản” was neglected and a large number of them were destroyed and lost. In 1959, the University of Huế offered to be the custodian of these “châu bản” and created the Ủy ban phiên dịch sử liệu Việt Nam (Committee for Translation of Vietnamese Historical Documents) with the responsibility of providing inventory, studying and creating an index for these “châu bản.” In 1960, Mục lục châu bản triểu Nguyễn (Index to the “châu bản” of Nguyễn Dynasty, Vol. 1, on Gia Long’s reign, was published. In 1962, Index to the “châu bản” of Nguyễn Dynasty, Vol. 2, on Minh Mạng’s reign from the 1st year to the 5th year (1820–1824), was published. Before 1975, Saigon government moved these records from Huế to Đà Lạt. In 1975, these records were moved from Đà Lạt to Sài Gòn. After the liberation of South Vietnam, the State Records Management and Archives Department took over and assigned the National Archive Center 2 to manage these records. At the end of 1991, these records were moved to Hà Nội and the Department assigned National Archive Center 1 to take care of them. According to the 1959 statistics provided by the Committee for Translation of Vietnamese Historical Documents under Dr. Trần Kính Hòa at University of Huế, these records consisted of 611 volumes with a number of unbound sheets. The post-1975 inventory done by the National Archive Center 1 listed 602 volumes, excluding the unbound sheets. A new and more carefully executed inventory done in 1993 by the National Archive Center 1 gave the final figure of 734 volumes, excluding 40 volumes that were stuck together, and 12 undetermined volumes. Currently only 9.22% of these records are still in good shape. The remaining records are old, moulded, stuck, including about 15% that were badly damaged. From 1995, the State Records Management and Archives Department began using information technology to process these records and produced CD-ROM containing information sketches together with the original records. This has been recognized as one part of the world heritage classified by the United Nations as “Memory of the World Program.” Besides, many private homes still keep a number of these records. 2 Thủ ngự: a government official position responsible for “quan, tấn = port, sea shores,” usually in the military, with rank from Cai đội (Commanding officer of a đội; đội (Company): about 50 soldiers, larger than a platoon but smaller than a Cơ) to Cai cơ (Commanding officer of a cơ; cơ (Battalion): about 500 soldiers, pretty much like a battalion). The Thủ ngự of Seaport Sa Kỳ usually also commands the Hoàng Sa militia. The Thủ ngự of important seaports like Thuận An and Đà Nẵng usually were selected by the court

58  Legal data mandarins, submitted to the Emperor, and only assumed positions after the Emperor has issued a decree. 3 Phú Lãng Sa: France, French. 4 Luzon: largest island of the Philippines. 5 Nội các (Royal Cabinet): established in the 10th Year of Minh Mạng (1829); its predecessor had been Văn thư phòng (established in the 1st Year of Minh Mạng, 1820). Nội các had the responsibility to keep all royal correspondence, all reports and documents from all court agencies, and recorded the activities of the Ministries, the institues and all codified documents of the Government. 6 Giám thành: the person responsible for the creation of maps. According to Khâm định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ, volume 143, from the 3rd Year of Minh Mạng, the report submiitted by the Ministry of Public Works was royally approved: to recruit non-registered people of the provinces who have been certified of having knowledge of cartography, and to assign them to the Vệ giám thành (Directorate of Cartography). Giám thành has been organized as a Vệ (Directorate) and gradually upgraded. In the 14th Year of Minh Mạng, another report submitted by the Ministry of Public Works was royally approved: “Vệ giám thành became part of Ti Hộ thành binh, specializing in surveying and map drawing ” Vệ giám thành was divided into four Divisions, sometimes up to ten Divisions. By classification, each Division should consist of 50 persons, but in difficult times each Division may have only 20, 30 or 40 person. 7 According to this note, the surveying team sent annually to Paracel Islands was able to survey 12 islands. Therefore, if the first team was sent in 1833 then by 1838 a total of 85 islands could have already been surveyed.

4 Scientific and technical data

Scientific and technical dataScientific and technical data

4.1  Western maps of Paracel and Spratly Islands In 1494, Pope Alexander VI used his (spiritual) power to divide the influence zones in the world for Spain and Portugal. This division was formalized in the Treaty of Tordesillas. The Portuguese merchant ships, therefore, have sailed to the East, to India and China. The Portuguese had established a trading post in Macau (China) since 1511 and turned Macau into a colony in 1557. From that time, the Western merchant ships traversed the East Sea more frequently, and Portuguese navigators began to explore this area, including the Paracel archipelago. Portuguese navigator and Jesuit Fernão Mendes Pinto has written his book entitled Peragrinacão (translated into French as Pérégrination) recounting his travel in 1545. This book was published in Lisbon in 1614. In his book, F.M. Pinto described the Paracel Islands, which he called Pulo Pracela (in Portuguese, Pracela means coral, and Pulo means island). In the meantime, Western missionaries, travelling on these merchant ships, came to preach in Đàng Ngoài of Vietnam. At the beginning of the XVI century, the sea voyage from Malacca to Macau was quite dangerous with many shipwrecks caused by submerged reefs in the East Sea (South China Sea). Many voyage diaries of Portuguese explorers in the second half of the XVI century have mentioned a strip of submerged reefs called Pulo Sissir (Baixos de Pulo Sissir), at 10 degrees North latitude, which was considered as very dangerous. Later people found that this strip of submerged reefs was in fact very wide, encompassing not only Paracel Islands but also Spratly Islands, exactly like what Vietnamese geographers of the same period of time had known. In addition to the voyage diaries, the sea travel charts by Portuguese navigators of the second half of the XVI century also reflected the general knowledge of an archipelago that they called Pracel, and they described as a long “ribbon” or a long knife, curved but not broken, extending offshore all along the coast of Đàng Trong of that time. Besides, the Portuguese also had very old and rare maps, produced in the midXVI century, with indications of the Paracel archipelago. These were the map by Bartholomeu Velho recorded in Pierre-Yves Mangiun’s book and the map by unknown creator in the book entitled Livro da Marinharia, reproduced in F.M. Pinto’s Peragrinacão. Both of these maps were published in 1560 and reflected accurately Westerners’ knowledge of the Paracel archipelago at that time.

60  Scientific and technical data In general, Westerners of that time, typically represented by the Portuguese, had not acquired an adequate knowledge of the Paracel archipelago and did not know what country these islands belonged to. The shape of the Paracel archipelago, which the Portuguese noted with the phrase “J Do Pracel,” was a long strip of small dots extending from Cù Lao Chàm (Pulo Campello) offshore of Hội An (Fai-Fo) to Cù Lao Thu (Pulo Sissir, now called Phú Quý Island) offshore of Phan Thiết of today. This long strip was wide with dark dots in the North, became narrower in the South and was ended with a small dot, looking like a “ribbon” pointed at the end. That Pracel “ribbon” in F.M. Pinto’s Peragrinacão with a lot more points, was darker in the North, and much narrower in the Southern part. At the end of the XVI century, the map by Fernão Vaz Dourado (1590) showed that the Portuguese still had not acquired more knowledge about the Paracel Islands. However, during that time, the Dutch began to increase their activities in the East Sea. Van Langren produced in 1595 a very good map, giving a lot of information, especially for Central Vietnam. In this map, many details of Tonkin were indicated much more clearly, especially the Red River was shown having its source in Yunnan (recorded as Suinan in the map). In the Northwest of Pracel, there was the Hainan Island (recorded as Ainan). In the East and Northeast there were many dark points close to each other, but they were not given any name. The special feature of Van Langren’s map was the inland part. In addition to the remarkable place-name of Cap Varella, the map also had the coastline noted as Costa da Pracel, facing the Pulo Canton (Ré Island) belonging to the Province of Quảng Ngãi. Beginning with the XVII century, for many reasons, the Portuguese have gradually lost their monopoly in the East Sea. A number of other countries have increased their presence in this sea area, with more and more ships traversing the Paracel archipelago surroundings. The most powerful opponents of the Portuguese were the Dutch, followed by the British and the French. Unlike the trading method of the Portuguese in the previous century, the maritime activities of the Dutch, the British and the French were mainly based on international trading companies, authorized and supported by the government, typically represented by the British East India Company, established in 1600, or the Dutch East India Company (in Dutch: Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or V.O.C.), established in 1602. The Paracel archipelago, located on the international trade seaway, was already considered by Westerners at that time as having a very important strategic position. Thus, from the XVI century, Portuguese navigators and explorers, followed by the Dutch, have surveyed and drawn maps with representation of the Paracel archipelago. This archipelago, usually called Parcel or Pracel by the Westerners, was presented on these maps as a long strip, in the shape of a long and curved sword, extending from the 17th North parallel to the 10th North parallel, and narrower in the Southern part. Beginning with the XVII century, the Nguyễn Lords of Đàng Trong began to show their interest in the East Sea. The oldest map with indication of the Bãi Cát Vàng (Strip of Yellow Sands) in the East Sea, which is still preserved up to today, is the map produced by Đỗ Bá Công Đạo in the Toàn tập Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư (1686).

Scientific and technical data  61 Beginning with the XVIII century, the surveys of the East Sea by the East India companies1 were carefully carried out. The exploration-survey of the expedition led by the French explorer Kergariou Locmacria in 1787–1788 in the East Sea helped the Westerners gain more knowledge about the area. They were no longer in the dark, frightened by legends of “accidents, disasters” in the East Sea. The voyages became safer, although they would never deny the fact that there were dangers and risks of shipwrecks always lurking in the Paracel archipelago area. From that time on, accurately drawn Western maps began to appear, with very clear notes on Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands. The most typical map was the An Nam Đại Quốc họa đồ. This map was attached at the end of the Vienamese-Latin dictionary (Dictionarium Latino-Anamiticum) by Bishop J.L. Taberd, published in 1838. The map was 80 cm x 44 cm in size and printed on special kind of paper for maps. The title of the map was in Chinese, Vietnamese and Latin. This An Nam đại quốc họa đồ contained the following noticeable features: Firstly, Paracels was the place-name used by Westerners for the archipelago in the East Sea [South China Sea] throughout the XVI century to the beginning of the XIX century, which the Vietnamese called Cát Vàng or Hoàng Sa. In the East Sea, China’s Hainan Island was non-existent, only the Vietnamese islands were present. The Hoàng Sa islands were located at 17th North parallel and 111th East meridian, and the islands were represented by small dots with the annotation of “paracel seu Cát Vàng.” The Latin word “seu” means meaning. The Vietnamese Nôm word “Cát Vàng” means “yellow sands” or “Hoàng Sa” in Sino-Vietnamese. Thus, the word Paracel = Cát Vàng = Hoàng Sa. This annotation is a clear and consistent affirmation, not a deduction like the Chinese word Tây Sa. And this annotation also strongly rejects the Chinese distortion of the facts when it claimed that the Paracel archipelago was close to the coast. Secondly, the place-name Paracel was printed next to the dots for the islands around 16° North (same latitude with Tư Dung estuary, Thừa Thiên – Huế) going up to the 17° North (around Cửa Tùng estuary, Quảng Trị) and 118°18’ East. This fact reflected the Westerners’ accurate knowledge of the Paracel archipelago. Thirdly, on the inland part of the map, there was the annotation of “An Nam Quốc seu Imperium Anamiticum” with the phrase “Cocincina interior” seu “An Nam Đàng Trong,” at the South of “Lũi Sầy” seu “Murus magnus separans Oilim Utrumque regne” and “Cocincina exterior,” Đàng Ngoài seu “Tunquinum.” All of these features indicated that the map was drawn before 1838. Moreover, the map also made use of new place-names such as Fort of Bình Định, Fort of Định Tường  .  .  . proving that An Nam Đại Quốc họa đồ would have been drawn after Nguyễn Ánh (later becoming Emperor Gia Long) captured the Fort of Quy Nhơn (1799). The coastline of Southern Central Vietnam was drawn very accurately; the representation of North Vietnam, especially the border area with Laos, was not really accurate. We can see that at the beginning of the XIX century, the Westerners already had a very good knowledge of Vietnam and the Paracel archipelago belonging to Vietnam.

62  Scientific and technical data

Illustration 1  Map of the Great Annam in the Dictionarium Latino-Anamiticum

4.2 Vietnamese marine hydrological measurements and topographic map drawings of Paracel and Spratly Islands Not many documents and maps regarding the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos are currently preserved by Vietnam, partly because of the destruction and displacements caused by wars, but we know for certain that the Nguyễn Lords have ordered that the surveying, marine hydrological measurements and map drawing of the sea area surrounding the Paracel Islands be carried out. This is self-evident because if these activities did not occur we could not have the map with the indication of the Bãi Cát Vàng (Strip of Yellow Sands) in the Toàn tập Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư, or the Thuận Hóa Quảng Nam địa đồ nhật trình (Thuận Hóa Quảng Nam maps and travel logs) with the indication of “Trường Sa” outside of Du Trường village (Ré Island and the voyage taking two days). Moreover, Đại Nam thực lực tiền biên, Volume 8 also mentioned: “In the Year of the Cat, the 20th Year of Emperor Hiến Minh’s reign (1711) [i.e. Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu], in the summer, in the 4th month, order was issued to take measurements of the

Scientific and technical data  63 Trường Sa sandbank in order to know its length and its width.” Despite the fact that we do not know if the “Trường Sa”2 sandbank hereby mentioned were really “Hoàng Sa” sandbank offshore or was just an inland sandbank with the same name, that above-mentioned quotation has affirmed one thing: the Nguyễn Lords have planned and executed the surveying and measuring of these sandbanks. If they have already shown their interest in the inland sandbanks they just could not ignore the importance of the sandbanks offshore. Before his coronation (1802), Nguyễn Ánh had been supported by the Dayot brothers (Jean-Marie Dayot and Félix Dayot), former officers of the French Navy, in the building of his Navy as well as in the marine hydrological measurements in the East Sea, including the Paracel archipelago. At the beginning, the Hoàng Sa team was charged with the surveying and making marine hydrological measurements. For example, under Emperor Gia Long, in the 1st month of the Year of the Pig (1815), Phạm Quang Ảnh, a member of the Hoàng Sa team, was ordered to go to the Paracel archipelago to carry out the survey and to make marine hydrological measurements. In the following year, the 15th Year of Gia Long (Year of the Rat, 1816), the Emperor ordered his Navy to escort the Hoàng Sa team to the Paracel islands to perform these tasks again. Under Emperor Minh Mạng, the Navy was in charge of these measurements with the support and assistance of the militia and the civilian workers, and with hired fishing boats leading the way. Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part II, Volume 165 mentioned: From now on, in the second-half of the first month of every year, navy men, soldiers and cartographers should be selected and transported by a blackpainted boat with objective to reach Quảng Ngãi around the first-half of the second month. The two Provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định should be charged with leasing 4 civilian boats, which would then lead the team to Paracel Islands. Taking marine hydrological measurements meant surveying the seaway. This was one of the tasks performed under the direction of the Ministry of Public Works, aimed at providing safety for the ships going at sea, including the Paracel archipelago area. The measurements would precede the Paracel Islands map drawing, carried out by the cartographers with the assistance of the navy and local people of the Provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định and the Hoàng Sa militia. In order to accomplish this mission, it was imperative that good navigators should be selected, who knew everything about the seaway such as its depth, its special features, its submerged sandbanks and reefs to guarantee safe navigation. They should also have a good knowledge of landmarks, and meteorological warning signs in order to make decisions for the boats to proceed or to stop. The Khâm định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ, Volume 220, recorded that the Ministry of Public Works had the following rating system and instructions for the selection of navigators: those with a 10/10 knowledge would be classed as Excellent; those with 9/10 or 8/10 knowledge would be classed as Good; those with 6/10 or 5/10

64  Scientific and technical data would be classed as Fair; deliberations should be done carefully in nominating team leaders, assistant team leaders and when making decisions on who should be rewarded with double monetary remuneration or double rice ration; all should be officially reported; and all decisions must wait for His Majesty’s approval decree granting these favours. All these instructions of the Ministry were later approved: Navigators should have good knowledge of estuary features, of meteorological phenomena, of landmarks, of directions. Who have 10/10 knowledge should be classed as Excellent; who have 8/10 or 9//10 knowledge should be classed as Good; and who have 5/10 or 6/10 knowledge should be classed as Fair. The Excellent-rated candidates, who used to be principal team leaders, are to be nominated Company Commander. Those being rated Excellent, who used to be team leaders, are to be nominated principal team leaders. Those being rated Excellent, who used to be unofficial team leaders, are to be nominated team leaders. Nominations should be made immediately when there are vacancies. Khâm định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ, Volume 220 also recorded that: For navigators, who are ordered to go on missions at sea either many times a year, or just one time but going abroad, or in bad weather with many risks for the boats, but still have good control of the boats and have the missions well accomplished, the rating should be Excellent. For navigators, who are ordered to go on missions at sea twice in a year, and have the missions accomplished, the rating should be Good. For those navigators who have not accomplished their missions, the rating should be Weak. The navy men, who were sent to the Paracel archipelago, were to be given naval training and must pass examination. Their performance would be evaluated for reward and punishment purposes, which, in case the mission was for the surveying in Paracel Islands, should receive special considerations. From the 17th Year of Minh Mạng, the despatch of the navy to Paracel Islands became more regular. In some years, the mission was delayed because of storms, and carried out again at a later time. For example, in the 5th Year of Thiệu Trị (1845) the Emperor issued a decree to postpone the mission. The following year, the 6th Year of Thiệu Trị, the Ministry of Public Works submitted a request for postponement and the Emperor approved. After that, during the reign of Emperor Tự Đức, these missions were not recorded in Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part IV (Reign of Emperor Tự Đức) because they have become routine procedures. From the beginning of the Nguyễn Dynasty, these missions were scheduled to begin in the spring (leaving the Capital City of Huế to the Province of Quảng Ngãi), but could be sooner or later from year to year. From the Capital City of Huế, the naval unit came to Quảng Ngãi and spent some considerable time there to rest and to make preparations. In the 19th Year of Minh Mạng (1838), at the beginning, the departure had been scheduled for the second half of the third month, but

Scientific and technical data  65 due to the continuously blowing easterly wind, together with heavy rains, it was delayed and could not be carried out even in the second half of the fourth month. According to the original plan, the objective of that mission was to measure the perimeter of the Paracel Islands from the second half of the third month to the second half of the sixth month. When the mission was carried out, despite the late start, the scheduled finish time (in the sixth month) was not changed. If the team members had good reasons for their being late carrying out of their duties in Paracel Islands, they could be exempted from punishment. But they would be punished if they did not follow proper procedures or did not accomplish their mission. If they accomplished their mission well they would be rewarded. In the 16th Year of Minh Mạng (1835), Company Commander Phạm Văn Nguyên returned late from his trip to Paracel Islands. A royal decree was issued, ordering the Ministry of Public Works to punish him with 80 strokes of the club. But later he was reinstalled in his position. Cartographers Trần Văn Vân, Nguyễn Văn Tiến (Tiệm), and Nguyễn Văn Hoằng did not complete their map drawing of Paracel Islands were also subjected to the punishment with 80 strokes of the club. However, also in this mission, Hoàng Sa team members such as Vũ Văn Hùng (the Võ family still has their ancestral home at the West hamlet, village of An Vĩnh, formerly Ward of An Vĩnh, island-district of Lý Sơn) and Phạm Văn Sênh (Sanh), who navigated the boats and participated in the hard work of surveying, were awarded 1 quan of Phi Long coins each. The accompanying civilian workers from the two Provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định were also awarded 1 quan each. Similarly, in the 18th Year of Minh Mạng (1837), people sent from the Capital City like Navy man Phạm Văn Biện, or people sent from the province like Vũ Văn Hùng and Phạm Văn Sênh (both awarded in the previous mission), due to their late departure, were all subjected to punishment. Meanwhile, the accompanying soldiers and civilians from the two Provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định were awarded 2 quan each. These details demonstrated particular proofs of the exercising of Vietnam’s sovereignty through the activities of surveying and map drawing. The duty of surveying in the Paracel archipelago was also recorded very clearly in Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part II, Volume 165 as well as in Khâm định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ, Volume 221: Everywhere the boats can reach, measurements should be taken for the dimensions (length, width, height, and perimeter) of the islands, and the sea depths of all four sides. Observations should also be made regarding reefs, submerged rocks, dangerous features; everything should be measured carefully and maps should be drawn. Attention should be paid for departure point from which estuary to destination, direction and navigation to the destination, to determine the length of the voyage. It is also important to know which inland province is closest to the destination and how far is the distance from the shore to that location. Everything should be recorded clearly on maps to be submitted. And, from next year on, when comes the second-half of the first month, following the past practice, the trip will be repeated.

66  Scientific and technical data Thus, the surveying should be combined with the map drawing. During the Nguyễn Dynasty, these two tasks were started in the 14th Year of Gia Long (1815) and significantly increased under the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng. In the 16th Year of Minh Mạng (1835), cartographers Trần Văn Vân, Nguyễn Văn Tiến (Tiệm) and Nguyễn Văn Hoằng did not complete the map drawing and were subjected to the punishment with 80 strokes of the club. Following an order from Emperor Minh Mạng, on the 13th Day of the 7th Month of the 18th Year of Minh Mạng (1837), the Royal Navy was sent to the Paracel archipelago to draw maps of 11 islands, but the task was not completed satisfactorily. According to a report submitted by the Ministry of Public Works, on the 21st Day of the 6th Month of the 19th Year of Minh Mạng (1838), the Royal Navy was again sent to the Paracel archipelago, and this time they were able to finish the surveying of three locations with 12 islands, and the drawing of four maps, three for separate locations and one for the whole area, although none of the four maps were really adequate. The Ministry of Public Works requested that the maps be drawn again more carefully. Although the surveying and map drawing of the Paracel archipelago in the time of the Nguyễn Dynasty was much more thorough, they were still relatively backward when compared to Western advanced mapping techniques, especially for the fact that the Vietnamese did not know how to determine the geographical positions on the globe by latitudes and longitudes. Having detailed sea charts was good but not enough for accurate seafaring. The most important thing was always the presence of an experienced navigator, who had actually gone through that sea zone. The sea charts of Paracel Islands, drawn by the cartographers, were kept at the cartography office, at the headquarters of the Royal Navy or at the Ministry of Public Works. It is regrettable that during the attack of the French on the Capital City and the resistance war against the French, the Capital City (Huế) was pillaged, and, therefore, many of the carefully drawn maps of Paracel Islands were lost. We only know for certain that from 1838, the Royal Navy under Emperor Minh Mạng was able to draw a general map of Paracel Islands. The most representative map that we still have today is the Đại Nam nhất thống toàn đồ (Complete map of the Unified Great Nam, 1838). The surveying and map drawing by the government, according to international laws, can be considered as concrete proofs of the establishment, and exercise of sovereignty of the government, and of the real possession of the islands. Analysing the Đại Nam nhất thống toàn đồ in its original size of 64 cm x 99 cm, we see the following: •

•

The title of the map in Chinese characters on the top left (west side); from west to east, under the title of the map, were Yunnan, frontier of West Shu, border post Nam Quan (North of Bảo Lộc, and West of Cao Bằng), Cao Bằng, Lạng Sơn, Quảng Yên, border post Đông Quan. The administrative place-names (provinces) are listed from north to south (also in Nôm Chinese characters): in the North: Cao Bằng, Quảng Yên, Lạng Sơn, Thái Nguyên, Bắc Ninh, Hưng Hóa, Sơn Tây, Hà Nội, Nam Định, Hưng Yên, Ninh Bình. In the Centre and Highlands: Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, Hà Tỉnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Kinh Thành, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, Bình Định,

Scientific and technical data  67

•

Cương la thành, Sơn phủ, Hạ bốc, Khánh Hòa, Hoàng Hóa, Bình Thuận. In the South: Biên Hòa, Gia Định, Trấn Đạo Di, Vĩnh Long, An Giang, Long Xuyên đạo, Hà Tiên. The place-names along the coast, from north to south:



In the North: Vạn Ninh, Đồ Hải, Lân Hải, Ba Dội, Long Hải, Lịch (Lạch) Hải, Liên Hải. In the Centre: Chính Đại, Bạng Tấn, Càn (Cần) Hải, Hội Hải, Nhượng Hải, Tấn Hải, Khẩu Hải, Linh Giang, Nhật Lệ, Tùng Dương, Việt An, Thuận An, Tư Hiền, Cảnh Dương, Chu Mại, Hải Vân, Câu Đê, Đại Cát, Đại Cát Mặc, Thị Nại, Xuân Đài, Cam Linh (Ranh). In the South: Cần Giờ, Tiểu môn, Đại môn, Ba Thắc môn, Mỹ Thạnh môn, Hào Cơ, Bồ Đề, Phú Quốc.

•

Western border, from north to south: Province of Yunnan, frontier of Siam, Siam, Đồ Bà in the Southwest. Inside the western border, from North to South: Kinh Châu Đông, Phong Châu, Thủy Hỏa Nhị Vương, Trấn Ninh, Vạn Tượng, Hà Hải.

•

We can see that although the technique of map drawing at the beginning of the XIX century was still not yet fully modernized, the S-shaped coastline of the map of Vietnam was fairly precisely drawn. The northern border with China, the coastline in the North, and the cap of Cà Mau in the South were not as well-drawn when compared to modern maps. A number of incorrect details could be found on the map such as Hưng Yên being placed at the Southwest of Nam Định, or the Red River and Đà River system being connected to the Mekong River in Laos. In summary, Vietnamese and Western maps, and pre-1909 Chinese maps showing Hainan Island as the southernmost point of China, were clear proofs of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. Although the feudal government of Vietnam of that time did not have modern mapping techniques using accurate geographical positions like the Westerners, but if compared to the Western maps drawn with geographical coordinates, for example the An Nam Đại Quốc họa đồ, the position of Hoàng Sa or Cát Vàng was already presented very clearly. If comparison was made between Western and Vietnamese texts and documents, the truth would be even more self-evident: Paracels was indeed the dear Cát Vàng (Hoàng Sa) of our country. Moreover, all of these activities were undisputable proofs of the exercising of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, which is the central topic of the next chapter.

Notes 1 In the XVIII and XIX centuries, the United Kingdom and France had the two strongest European navies. Both countries had established marine hydrological measurement agencies (France: 1720; UK: 1795). In 1795, the marine hydrological measurement agency of the British Royal Navy (with Alexander Dabrynuple, former head of the marine hydrological measurement unit of the British East India Company, as its first Director) organized many surveys in the East Sea where several shipwrecks had occurred. In 1808, this

68  Scientific and technical data agency surveyed the Paracel archipelago area. From this survey, the publishing house Horsburgh published the sea charts no. 1 and no. 2 in 1821. 2 At that time, the cognizance of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos was still vague. The Vietnamese people called these two archipelagos by many different names: Bãi Cát Vàng (Strip of Yellow Sands), Hoàng Sa (Yellow Sands), Vạn Lí Hoàng Sa (Tenthousand-mile Yellow Sands), Đại Trường Sa (Great Long Sandbanks), Vạn lí Trường Sa (Ten-thousand-mile Long Sandbanks) as we can see in Vietnamese old books and maps. Sometimes they were called “bãi biển Trường Sa” (Trường Sa beach) or “bờ biển Hoàng Sa” (Hoàng Sa coast). The Chinese, therefore, later claimed that Hoàng Sa was just a place-name close to the shore. Today, in this area, with the exception of Ré Island, there are no islands or archipelagos other than the Paracel archipelago.

5 Vietnam’s continuous affirmation of sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereigntyVietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty

5.1 Pre-1909 public administration by the Vietnamese Governments 5.1.1  Public administration (by the Nguyễn Dynasty) Before 1909, there was no Chinese document showing that the Chinese emperors and their royal courts affirmed their sovereignty over Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands. Meanwhile, official documents of the Government of Vietnam, of the Vietnamese royal courts such as Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Khâm định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ, Châu bản triểu Nguyễn and Đại Nam nhất thống chí all recorded very clearly that the Vietnamese emperors and the Vietnamese royal courts have always affirmed that the Paracel Islands were part of the territory of Vietnam. For example, in the 8th Month of the 14th Year of his reign (1833), Emperor Minh Mạng issued a decree to the Ministry of Public Works with the beginning sentence as follows: “The Strip of Yellow Sands (Hoàng Sa) in the territorial waters belonging to the Province of Quảng Ngãi” (Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part II, Volume 104). In the Year of the Monkey, the 17th Year of Minh Mạng (1836 or the 16th Year of Đạo Quang of the Chinese Qing Dynasty), the Ministry of Public Works reported to the Emperor: “The Strip of Yellow Sands (Hoàng Sa) within our territorial waters is in a very important and sensitive location” (Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part II, Volume 165). On the 10th Day of the 12th Month of the 7th Year of Thiệu Trị (1847), the Ministry of Public Works affirmed in its re-submitted report: “Every year, in spring, following past practice, soldiers and boats are sent to Paracel Islands within our territorial waters” (Châu bản tập Thiệu Trị, no. 51, page 235). The Đại Nam nhất thống chí published by the Quốc Sử Quán Triều Nguyễn also mentioned very clearly: “East of the Province of Quảng Ngãi lies the Strip of Yellow Sands (Hoàng Sa) in the open sea.” Throughout the Nguyễn Lords era, the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos were under the administrative management of the Thừa Tuyên (Province) of Quảng Ngãi (during the Lê Dynasty sometimes called Phủ – Greater District – or Trấn – Municipality) within the reality of the self-government of Đàng Trong at that time. From the time when Nguyễn Hoàng came back to govern Thuận Quảng (1600) to the time when Nguyễn Phúc Khoát (1738–1765) declared himself a

70  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty Prince (1744), the Nguyễn Lords, in principle, have always been just governors of the Province of Quảng Nam of Đại Việt (Great Viet) under the Lê emperors. All activities to establish the Nguyễn Lords’ sovereignty, in principle, have been carried out by authority of the Governors of Quảng Nam of Đại Việt. In 1602, to assert his self-government, Nguyễn Hoàng established the Dinh (Province) of Quảng Nam, the Phủ (Greater District) Quảng Nghĩa (or Ngải) (formerly Greater District Tư Nghĩa). Also, from 1602, Greater District (Quảng Nghĩa) has been governed by a Tuần phủ (Chief of Greater District) and a Khánh lí (Deputy Chief for Legal Affairs). Within that self-government system, the Greater District Quảng Nghĩa had jurisdiction over the village of An Vĩnh, District of Bình Sơn (formerly District of Bình Dương). Toàn tập Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư mentioned: “The Strip of Yellow Sands (Hoàng Sa) is in Greater District Quảng Nghĩa.” Lê Quý Đôn’s Phủ biên tạp lục also recorded: “[The Strip of] Hoàng Sa is in the Greater District of Quảng Nghĩa (belonging to Province of Quảng Nam), District of Bình Sơn, village of An Vĩnh.” Phan Huy Chú’s Địa dư chí stated: “[The Strip of] Hoàng Sa is in Municipality of Quảng Nghĩa.” In the Tây Sơn era, from 1773, the Greater District Quảng Nghĩa has become the Greater District Hòa Nghĩa. In 1801, Hòa Nghĩa got back its former name of Quảng Nghĩa (or Quảng Ngãi). The management team of the Greater District of Quảng Nghĩa was consisted of: Tuần phủ (Chief of Province), Khánh lí (Deputy Chief for Legal Affairs), Chánh hộ lí (Head, Section of Vital Statistics), Đề lãnh (Deputy Chief for Military Affairs), Kí lục (Secretary), Cai phủ (Provincial Garrison Commander), and Thư kí (Clerk). Later, Quảng Nghĩa became a Municipality and then a Province. The Province of Quảng Nghĩa continued to have the village of An Vĩnh under its jurisdiction. As years passed, some residents of the village of An Hải, located north of the Sa Kỳ estuary, also joined the Hoàng Sa militia. A number of residents of the two villages of An Vĩnh and An Hải moved to Ré Island to create the two wards called An Vĩnh and An Hải, which Nguyễn Thông has called Hộ An Vĩnh and Hộ An Hải. Shortly after the Nguyễn Dynasty was established, when the population of the two wards An Vĩnh and An Hải on Ré Island had increased to a certain level, their residents submitted a request for permission to be separated from the two old villages inland. Later they became the chosen place for the recruitment of numerous members of the Hoàng Sa militia. Phạm Quang Ảnh, nominated Head of the Hoàng Sa team in 1815, was a resident of the village of An Vĩnh on the Ré Island, currently the East hamlet, village of An Vĩnh, district-island of Lý Sơn. Many documents such as Nguyễn Thông’s Việt sử cương giám khảo lược and Quốc Sử Quán’s Đại Nam nhất thống chí have ascertained that the Paracel archipelago belonged to the Province of Quảng Ngãi. Because the Paracel archipelago encompassed a large and sensitive area, the Province of Quảng Ngãi (at the beginning being just a greater district, then becoming a municipality before becoming a province) has always been designated as the administrative unit having some control over the regular and annual activities of the Hoàng Sa team so that the team could have the best support in fulfilling requests from the central government.

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  71 5.1.2  Activities of the Paracel Islands and North Sea militias Before 1909, there was no evidence showing that China and other South East Asian countries were interested in affirming their sovereignty over Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands. Meanwhile, throughout the period from the XVII century to the beginning of the XIX century, a Vietnamese military-civilian organization, the Hoàng Sa militia, has carried out annual missions in Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands, performing the two tasks of controlling the area and collecting sea products on the islands of these two archipelagos. Regarding the time of creation of the Hoàng Sa team, Vietnamese and Chinese historical documents all recorded that it was established around the beginning of the Nguyễn Lords era. The Chinese book Hải ngoại ký sự, written in 1696, recorded: “activities of the Hoàng Sa team has been carried out under the reign of the previous ruler.” The Vietnamese book Phủ biên tạp lục, written in 1776, also mentioned: “Before the Nguyễn Dynasty.” Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên (1821) stated: “Arrangements for the Hoàng Sa [team] at the early period of the dynasty.” Of course, the creation of the Hoàng Sa team must have been done before or under the administration of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Tần (1649–1687), i.e. before or during the time of production of Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư (1686), which has recorded the activities of the government of Vietnam in Paracel Islands. That period was the era of Lords Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên (1613–1635), Nguyễn Phúc Lan (1635–1648) and Nguyễn Phúc Tần (1649–1687). According to Lê Quý Đôn’s Phủ biên tạp lục, in the 3rd Year of Hoàng Định (1602), Nguyễn Hoàng, in his excursion on Hải Vân mountain, has made the following statement about the location: “This area is very important and sensitive for the whole Thuận Quảng region.” He then went beyond the mountain, made observation of the region, continued his journey to the village of Cầu Húc (Duy Xuyên of today), and sent his 6th son, Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên, to head and defend the Dinh (Province) of Quảng Nam. From that time to his death in 1613, he assigned Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên to take charge of all affairs South of Hải Van Pass. Besides, as previously mentioned, Phủ biên tạp lục as well as other documents also reported that the Hoàng Sa team has always returned to the mainland in the 8th month through the Eo (or Tư Hiền) estuary and submitted all collected items at the chính dinh (principal town) of Phú Xuân. From the time of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên, the chính dinh was no longer located at Ái Tử (Quảng Trị) and was moved to the region of Phước Yên, Quảng Điền (on the bank of Bồ River, a tributary of Hương River), but was still not located in Phú Xuân yet. During the administration of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Lan, it was moved to Kim Long and then in the era of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Tần it was finally moved to Phú Xuân. Thus, we can safely conclude that the Hoàng Sa team was probably created at the earliest under Lord Nguyễn Phúc Lan (1635–1648), and certainly under Lord Nguyễn Phúc Tần (1649–1687) because it was during this time that the Hoàng Sa team, upon its return, entered the Eo estuary and submitted collected items at the chính dinh of Phú Xuân.

72  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty No matter under which Nguyễn Lord, the time of creation of the Hoàng Sa team must have been done in the first-half of the XVII century, or, using the language of the historical documents, at the beginning of the Nguyễn Lords’s era. The Hoàng Sa team carried out its activities from the time of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Lan or Lord Nguyễn Phúc Tần to the end of the Nguyễn Lords’ era, during the reigns of seven Lords, and over a total time span of one and a half centuries. When the Tây Sơn uprising broke out, the Nguyễn Lord at that time had to flee to the South and the Hoàng Sa team came under Tây Sơn’s control. A document still preserved at the ancestral home of the Võ family in the ward of An Vĩnh, Ré Island, shows that, in the 9th Year of Thái Đức (1786), the residents of Ré Island submitted to the Tây Sơn authority a request for the Hoàng Sa team to be re-activated. In the last years of the Tây Sơn administration, the activities of the Hoàng Sa team were adversedly affected. After his coronation, in the 2nd Year of his reign (1803), Emperor Gia Long re-authorized the Hoàng Sa team’s activities. Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Volume 21 clearly reported this event: “Company Commander Võ Văn Phú, Commander of the Seaport of Sa Kỳ, recruited nonregistered residents to form the Hoàng Sa team.” In 1815, Emperor Gia Long ordered the Hoàng Sa team to go to Paracel Islands to make marine hydrological measurements. In addition, the live funeral oration for the Hoàng Sa team during the reign of Emperor Tự Đức, still preserved in Ré Island, is also a proof. In summary, although the exact timing of the suspension of the Hoàng Sa team’s activities has not been determined, but in 1877 when Nguyễn Thông wrote his book Việt sử cương giám khảo lược, the Hoàng Sa team had already been disbanded. The main reason was that from 1816, the tasks of surveying and measuring were no longer the responsibility of the Hoàng Sa team, but had been assigned to the Royal Navy. Regarding the schedule of activities on the islands, according to documents such as Dư địa chí, Hoàng Việt địa dư chí, Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên, Đại Nam nhất thống chí, every year the Hoàng Sa team began its mission in the 3rd month and finished it in the 8th month. Only Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư or Toàn tập An Nam lộ đồ indicated that the departure time was in winter, with no date of return. According to Phủ biên tạp lục with map, the departure time was usually in the first month of the lunar calendar and the return time was in the 8th month (if the food supply was only for six months then the first month departure time would appear to be incorrect). From the 3rd month to the 8th month of the lunar calendar, i.e. from April to September of the Western calendar, it is the dry season in the Province of Quảng Ngãi, with southwesterly wind, excellent time for seafaring. The region of Quảng Ngãi usually only had storms from the 8th month to the 11th month (from September to December in Western calendar), especially in the 9th and 10th months. Therefore, the selection of time for the Hoàng Sa team activities was a logical choice. Came the 8th month of the lunar calendar, as the southwesterly wind started to lose its strength and the north-easterly wind began to blow; it would be the right time for the boats of the Hoàng Sa team to come back, entering the Eo estuary for the submission of collected items in the chính dinh. At the beginning, the departure had been too early due to unfavourable conditions

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  73 and it was re-scheduled to the 3rd month; the finish time set for the 8th month in order to avoid the storms was the result of a careful calculation. Almost all documents mentioned that the voyage in the 3rd month of the lunar calendar from Ré Island to the action zone in the Paracel archipelago took three days and three nights, except for Đại Nam nhất thống chí, which recorded three or four whole days. These travel times were appropriate for the kind of light and fast sail-boats employed in these expeditions to go from the coast or from Ré Island to the nearest island of the Paracel archipelago. Throughout the whole period of six months that they were at location, the Hoàng Sa team operated far and wide, visiting all islands among in the northern part of the archipelago. The islands in the southern part of the archipelago were taken care of by the Bắc Hải team. The Paracel and Spratly archipelagos are located in an area of the ocean often battered by storms. Therefore the conditions did not allow the Hoàng Sa team to stay there all year round. Thus, the history of the activities of the Hoàng Sa team from the beginning of the XVII century to the XIX century was also the history of the affirming and exercising Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands, according to the well-established laws and regulations of the government of Vietnam at that time. To accomplish its mission, the Hoàng Sa team had to carry out the following tasks: •

•

•

To collect items from shipwrecks, and precious sea products from the northern part of the Hoàng Sa archipelago (Paracel Islands) (the southern part, now known as Trường Sa [Spratly Islands] was the responsibility of the Bắc Hải team). To assume the supervision of the other teams doing the same tasks in other areas such as the Bắc Hải team in the South (Phủ biên tạp lục, Volume 2; Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên, Volume 10; Đại Nam nhất thống chí, Volume 6). Later, the Hoàng Sa team was also charged with the surveying and measuring the Paracel archipelago. This new task was added during Emperor Gia Long’s reign (Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên, Part I, Volumes 50 and 52). Regarding the tasks of explorations, sea patrol and reporting on pirate activities, the previously mentioned submission requesting the separation of the ward An Vĩnh from the village of An Vĩnh on the 1st Day of the 2nd Month of the 3rd Year of Gia Long (1804) showed that the people themselves were interested in these activities. Of course, when the people were volunteered for such activities, the government was inclined to approve, taking into consideration of the paramilitary nature of the Hoàng Sa team.

Thus, the duties of the Hoàng Sa team were quite heavy, including not only economic tasks like gathering sea products but also other important tasks such as making observations, taking marine hydrological measurements, and exploring the Paracel Islands, especially in the Nguyễn Lords era and the beginning of the Nguyễn Dynasty. The designation of the Hoàng Sa team to supervise the activities of the Bắc Hải team illustrated the concept of managing the East Sea (South China

74  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty Sea) of the governments of the Nguyễn Lords and of the early Nguyễn Dynasty. The residents of the Sa Kỳ estuary area as well as the residents of Ré Island were excellent seafarers. Like with the people coming to the South with them from the beginning, the Nguyễn Lords trusted the residents of Sa Kỳ estuary area and Ré Islands and assigned them with both the responsibility of clearing the land for cultivation and the responsibility of managing the land as well. In terms of organizational structure, the Hoàng Sa team was a paramilitary, semi-private organization. It had economic functions, but it was also charged with managing the East Sea (South China Sea). It was established at the beginning of the Nguyễn Lords era when the people of Đàng Trong, as farmer-soldiers, started the process of clearing lands for cultivation under authority of the Head of an administrative unit called Chưởng Dinh (Dinh = Province Governor). They required guidance and support for land reclamation and for military preparedness. This was a special organization of Đàng Trong similar to the farmer-soldier plantations and other militia organizations set up under the Nguyễn Dynasty to develop frontier land areas, the control of which was always under a Quản Cơ (Battalion Commander). According to Phủ biên tạp lục, Volume 3, the Nguyễn Dynasty organized many militia units such as the Thủ ngự (Civil Defense team; responsible for anti-crime neighbourhood watch) and the thổ binh (local guards team). Within the military organization of Đàng Trong, in addition to chính binh (regular forces) (also called tinh binh – elite forces – or nội binh – internal forces), local military commanders often recruit local residents as guards, called external (or auxiliary) forces (also called thổ binh – local guards – or tạm binh – temporary forces – or thuộc binh – dependent forces). These external forces were numerous, many times the size of regular forces, but did not receive monthly salaries like the regular forces; they were only exempted from corvée and some taxes. These forces were organized into the following units: dinh (Division), cơ (Battalion), đội (Company), thuyền (Platoon). Thuyền was the lowest unit. Each đội consisted of 40–60 persons. Leading the đội was the cai đội or đội trưởng (Company Commander). Since the Hoàng Sa team was a select militia unit operating in the East Sea (South China Sea) with many special functions and tasks, its structure was also unique. Leading the team was a Company Commander. Phủ biên tạp lục, Volume 2 has mentioned: “Order the Company Commander of the Hoàng Sa team to also supervise [the Bắc Hải team].” The Company Commander of the Hoàng Sa team usually also held other positions. For example: Phú Nhuận Hầu (Marquis of Phú Nhuận), also held the positions of “khâm sai cai thủ cửa biển Sa Kỳ” (Royal Envoy and Commander of the Seaport of Sa Kỳ) and “cai cơ thủ ngự” (Company Commander of Civil Defense). This was reflected in Phú Nhuận Hầu’s report dated the 1st Day of the 10th Month of the 2nd Year of Gia Long (1803), currently preserved at the ancestral home of the Võ family, ward of An Vĩnh, West hamlet, village of An (Lý) Vĩnh, District of Lý Sơn, Province of Quảng Ngãi. Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part I, Volume 22, recorded clearly: “Võ Văn Phú was Commander of the Seaport of Sa Kỳ at the time when he was ordered to re-establish

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  75 the Hoàng Sa team.” Under the Nguyễn Dynasty, the Khâm sai cai thủ (Royal Envoy Company Commander) was responsible for tax collection, sea security, and anti-piracy activities. Every year, 70 male residents in good health were selected to join the Hoàng Sa team, based on the aforementioned selection criteria, but also based on their seafaring capacity: 70 persons is an especially large size for a militia unit like the Hoàng Sa team. Members of the team were called soldiers, a reflection of the militarized characteristic of the team. Therefore, some Western translators translate “Hoàng Sa team” into French as “compagnie Hoàng Sa.” We have to understand this word “compagnie” in its military meaning, not in its business meaning. In Phủ biên tạp lục, Lê Quý Đôn also used the term “quân nhân” (soldiers) to designate the members of the Hoàng Sa team, two of which were drifted by storm to the seaport Thanh Lan (Hainan, China) in the 17th Year of Qianlong (1754), with the eight remaining members missing. Thus, each boat of the Hoàng Sa team had a crew of about 10 persons. In the village of An Vĩnh, currently An Vĩnh hamlet, Tự Kỳ village, we still see the relic of a shrine located close to the Sa Kỳ estuary: the Hoàng Sa shrine. This shrine was originally dedicated to the worship of the skeleton of the head of a whale (legend has it that it was brought back here from Hoàng Sa by the Hoàng Sa team) and also to the worship of the soldiers of the Hoàng Sa militia team. This shrine was destroyed during the war and the whale bones in the shrine were relocated to Lăng Thánh (Sacred Mausoleum), next to the old shrine. On Ré Island, now district-island Lý Sơn, we still can find the Âm Linh tự (Âm Linh Temple) or miếu Hoàng Sa (Hoàng Sa shrine), in the West hamlet of the village of An Vĩnh, formerly An Vĩnh ward, and the Âm Linh tự in the open air in the village of An Hải, formerly An Hải ward. The two villages of An Vĩnh and An Hải (both inland and on Ré Island) both had the tradition of organizing at their community halls the substitute ritual ceremony for the safe return for the Hoàng Sa soldiers before their departure. The ceremony was organized every year on the 20th day of the 2nd month. The live funeral service was organized for the Hoàng Sa soldiers because of their dangerous mission: “for the Hoàng Sa soldiers, it is easy to go out but difficult to come back.” Except for the commanders of the mission like team leaders, boat leaders, rank and file soldiers were usually selected from strong and single men. In the village of An Vĩnh or on Ré Island, many families still preserve their genealogical tables and altars for their family members who served in the Hoàng Sa team. For example, in the house of Mr. Phạm Quang Tỉnh, in the East hamlet village of An Vĩnh there is an altar (with the genealogical table) for his ancestor, Phạm Quang Ảnh, who was nominated as Commander of the Hoàng Sa team by Emperor Gia Long in 1815. In the live funeral service for the Hoàng Sa soldiers, dummies were made of a bamboo frame covered with five-color papers as substitutes for the soldiers for the ritual ceremony organized in the community hall. After the ceremony, the effigies would be burned, or placed on a raft made of banana tree trunks and let go to the sea. This ceremony was called Lễ khao lề thế lính Hoàng Sa1 (live funeral service for the Hoàng Sa soldiers). The ceremony was based on the concept or belief that

76  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty these dummies would endure all dangers, accidents at sea in place of the Hoàng Sa soldiers. It also represented the prayer for the safe return of the soldiers. Today, this ceremony is still celebrated in the ancestral homes of the Hoàng Sa team members. Currently, these families still preserve the text of the funeral oration in half Chinese characters, half Nôm characters, with the following paragraph: Today (or tonight, or this morning), expressing the wishes of . . . in the Province of . . . Great Annam, we are launching this boat with effigies, floating along the seaway to Hoàng Sa, and some tables laden with offerings of foods, gold and silver papers. In gratitude to Your Holy Spirit’s favour, we respectfully display these offerings and invite Your Holy Spirit to partake this feast. This funeral oration is preserved by Mr. Nguyễn Xuân Cảnh, 72 years old, of the West hamlet, village of An (Lý) Hải, district of Lý Sơn. Regarding the location of its activities, the Hoàng Sa team had a very large operation area. At the beginning, they were only charged with surveying those islands chose to the coast, but later on, during the 6 months of its mission, they gradually expanded their area of operation to all the coral islands of the East Sea (South China Sea) to include the entire Paracel archipelago and also assumed the supervision of the Bắc Hải team responsible for the Trường Sa archipelago (Spratly Islands) at that time. While the islands in the North were close to the greater district of Liêm Châu (Hainan – China), the islands in the South were close to Côn Lôn (Poulo Condor) and the province of Hà Tiên. The Hoàng Sa team itself, with its limited forces, could not expand its area of operation, but because of its assigned supervisory duty over other teams (such as the Bắc Hải team), in reality, its area of operation was very large, including all islands in the East Sea (South China Sea), that lied along the coast of Central Vietnam, i.e. the area Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên-Huế, from the southwest of Hainan Island to the area of the Trường Sa islands (Spratly Islands) of today. From the beginning of the XVII century, the government of Vietnam have already known that the Hoàng Sa archipelago, or the Strip of Yellow Sands or the Ten Thousand Miles Long Sandbanks were a strip of islands extending thousands of miles along the coast of the East Sea (South China Sea). This knowledge was reflected in the fact that the Hoàng Sa team was charged with additional responsibility for the supervision of the Bắc Hải team in the South. This also reflected our government policy of economic management of the East Sea (South China Sea) during that time. Varying from year to year, the number of boats going to Hoàng Sa could vary from 4 to 18. The boats were under the control of their owners or their captains. The “soldiers” manning the boats were mostly from the village of An Vĩnh, with some the village of An Hải on mainland and on Ré Island. Almost all documents mentioned solely An Vĩnh village. Only Việt sử cương giám khảo lược, Volume 4, by Nguyễn Thông mentioned both ward of An Vĩnh and ward of An Hải on Lý Sơn or Ré Island.

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  77 According to the oral history handed down from generation to generation of the local people of Ré Island, the selection of 70 members of the Hoàng Sa team was based on the quota applied to each of the families on the island, but in fact it was the military draft practice under the Nguyễn Lords. These soldiers were selected from the level of village to district to greater district. Because separate teams were employed in alternative years, every year the Hoàng Sa team had to recruit new members in order to carry out this tradition. Unlike soldiers of the regular forces, the soldiers of the Hoàng Sa team had only the duty of the ordinary militia. In terms of benefits, in addition to the exemption from corvee and taxes, they were allowed to share what were left of the items collected during the trip after the regulatory submission to the government. The six-month food supply provided by the government consisted mainly of rice; they had to catch fish and birds on the islands to survive. They carried with them firewood and a stove on each boat going permanently with mouldering coconut fibres. In general, the lives of soldiers, including the soldiers of the Hoàng Sa team, were better than the lives of ordinary people. According to the description provided by the Chinese Monk Thích Đại Sán, the people lived miserably, having to pay up to 80% of their revenue: Fishermen submitted all their catch to the headmen, who gave back some to them and they had to accept and be happy with that . . . When the government needed help for some public works, the village heads mobilize the residents, who had to provide their own foods. Members of the Hoàng Sa team each had to carry pair of mats, seven ropes made of reed, and seven long clubs of bamboo. If they died at sea, the mats would be used to roll up their body, the bamboo clubs would be used as braces and the ropes would be used to fasten the wrapped body, which would be then thrown to the sea. A small bamboo tablet with the name, native place and identity of the unit of the deceased inscribed on it was carefully attached to the body to help identify the deceased in case the body was retrieved by someone. The Hoàng Sa team used light and fast sail-boats. In his work A voyage to Cochinchina, John Barrow mentioned that the boats of Đàng Trong used in the coastal trade, fishing, sea product and swallow nests collection in the Paracel archipelago were of different shapes and types. The travel diary Suma Oriental que trata do Mar Roxo até aos Chins by Tomé Pires (a Portuguese author) was translated into English under title “The Suma Oriental of Tome Pires: an account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515,” published in London, in 1944. This book recounted the voyage and observations by the author of the lands visited in the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, including the kingdom of Cauchy-Chyna or Đàng Trong of Great Viet during the Lê-Mạc era. The author revealed that there was a large population who cleared land for cultivation along the coast and who used a large number of “lancharas” – a kind of fast sail-boats.

Illustration 2 Profile and parts of sail-boat used in Hoàng Sa Mission (beginning of XVII century)2

Illustration 3  Sail-boat and tools used in Hoàng Sa Mission (beginning of XVII century)3

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  79 The aforementioned old Vietnamese documents mentioned that the Hoàng Sa team used five small fishing boats called “tiểu điếu thuyền = small fishing boat” (Phủ biên tạp lục) or “tiểu thuyền = small boat” (Dư dịa chí and Hoàng Viêt địa dư chí ). The Chinese Monk Thích Đại Sán in his Hải ngoại ký sự also mentioned: During the administration of the past ruler, every year fishing boats were sent there to collect gold, silver, tools left by shipwrecks at Vạn Lý Trường Sa. In the autumn, the tide is low and runs to the east; big waves could push a boat hundreds of miles off course; the wind force is not so strong, but the danger is always there at Trường Sa. In this book, the author also referred to this type of fishing boat as “điếu xá = fiishing boat.” Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu also sent such a “điếu xá” to pick up Thích Đại Sán’s followers and goods at the Tiên Bích Sa Island (a.k.a. Cù Lao Chàm = Chàm Island). Thích Đại Sán left Guangdong on a ship, capable of carrying 400 people, with two small boats to lead the way. The ship ran aground once and was almost wrecked in another incident because it did not follow the direction from the pilot boat. Based on Vietnamese history books, the zone of operation of the Hoàng Sa team using this type of boat, beside Lý Sơn Island (Ré Island) that encompassed Hoàng Sa Chữ, included even Chiêm Bà Island. The simplest fishing boat of Đại Việt (Great Viet) during the XVII and XVIII centuries could be found in the Sa Kỳ estuary area and Ré Island. According to the document still preserved on Ré Island, drawn by Mr. Nguyễn Hạp, from a family that has lived on Ré Island for a long time, this type boat had the bottom made of weaved bamboo bars and painted with buffalo droppings and otter fat oil. The sides of the boat were made of wood of “trò chỉ” or “sao” (hopea odorata). The boat had three masts made of wood of “kiền kiền” (stone hopea). Other less important parts of the boat were made of the locally available wood of “mù u” (calophyllum inophyllum). The boats were constructed by the fishermen themselves. This type of boat was light and could go fast, and often with sails in the shape of the axe as described by Thích Đại Sán. The boat was small, carrying only a small number of people, but with good winds conditions, it could go 10 times faster than ordinary boats as recounted by Thích Đại Sán. Usually the boats from Ré Island had three sails made of weaved leaves, with tools such as jars for water made of bamboo. In recent times, a few fishing boats seen in Ré Island with a similar structure like the traditional boats have been found to be quite capable of operating in the deep ocean such as the area of Hoàng Sa islands. History has confirmed that the Vietnamese fishing boats, which were built in small size and made of light materials, had the capacity to avoid the coral reefs as well as to easily access the coral islands of the Paracel archipelago; they were also fit for the living conditions of the people of the Sa Kỳ, Ré Island area.

80  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty As part of its mission, the Hoàng Sa team, first of all, had to collect the precious and rare sea products in the Paracel archipelago such as hải sâm (sea cucumbers), ốc hoa (architectonia perspectiva), ốc tai voi (elephant-ear cochleae), ốc xà cừ (turbininae), đồi mồi (eretmochelys imbricata) and hải ba (a kind of sea turtles, similar in appearance to the đồi mồi, but smaller). By regulation, these precious sea products had to be submitted to the government, but usually some of them were allowed to be sold by the Hoàng Sa team, who often sold them in Hội An, where they could sell a large number of these products and at high prices. The most important part of the mission was to collect items from shipwrecks. Toàn tập Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư has recorded: “a large part of the collected items was consisted of gold and silver, coins, firearms and ammunition.” Phủ biên tạp lục mentioned: “collected items like bronze swords and bronze horses, silver flowers, silver coins, gold and silver, miscellaneous bronze items, tin blocks, black lead, canons, ivory tusks, bee wax, ceramics.” In his Phủ biên tạp luc, Lê Quý Đôn wrote: I searched the register kept by Company Commander Marquis of Thuyên Đức, who, as leader of the Hoàng Sa team for many years, had submitted the items collected from Hoàng Sa, and found specific submissions as follows: • • •

In the Year of the Horse (1702): Hoàng Sa team collected 30 silver ingots In the Year of the Monkey (1704): collected 5,100 pounds of tin In the Year of the Rooster (1705): collected 126 silver ingots.

From the Year of the Buffalo (1709) to the Year of the Snake (1713), i.e. for a period of about five years, once in a while they were able to collect some đồi mồi (eretmochelys imbricata) and hải sâm (sea cucumber). In other times, they collected some tin blocks, some stone bowls and two bronze canons. In his travel diary of 1750, Pierre Poivre wrote: Big iron canons were seen in the capital city of Huế. Decorated, with inscription “property of the Dutch East India Company,” and using 6-pound balls, these canons were collected in Paracel Islands, relics of ships that had been wrecked there. (Journal R.E.O., III, 1885) Certainly, during the war years, firearms and ammunition collected from shipwrecks in the Paracel archipelago were of high value. The fact that they could go far out to sea demonstrated that the Hoàng Sa team was very good at seafaring. Even during the reigns of Emperors Gia Lonng, Minh Mạng and Thiệu Trị, if the Royal Navy could actively operate around the Paracel archipelago it was thanks to the navigators selected from the excellent seafarers of that area including militiamen of the Hoàng Sa team. That was why the Royal Navy ships of the Nguyễn

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  81 Dynasty from the capital city of Huế must regroup in Quảng Ngãi before departing for the Paracel archipelago. Gradually, many more teams were organized and given the same responsibilities as the Bắc Hải team because the Nguyễn Dynasty discovered more large coral islands in the East Sea (South China Sea). However, the Nguyễn Emperors still gave the Hoàng Sa team the responsibility of supervising these team, with the clear intention of having only one simple command mechanism to control the situation in the East Sea. Lê Quý Đôn’s Phủ biên tạp lục, Volume 2, had a clear statement on the Bắc Hải team as follows: The Nguyễn family also established the Bắc Hải team with an undetermined number of members selected either from the village of Tứ Chính (close to the shore), belonging to greater district of Bình Thuận or from the volunteers of the village of Cảnh Dương. Certificates were issued for volunteers who were assigned to carry out the public works. Bắc Hải team members were exempted from corvee and tolls like road tolls and ferry tolls. They used small fishing boats to go to the area of Bắc Hải (Spratly Islands), the Poulo Condor and other islands belonging to Hà Tiên to search and collect đồi mồi (eretmochelys imbricata), hải ba (small sea turtle), đồn ngư (dolphins), lục quý ngư (a kind of rare fish), and hải sâm (sea cucumbers). Thus, in terms of organization, the Bắc Hải team had an undetermined membership; the number of members varied and depended of the situation and capability of the population of the village of Tứ Chính (Bình Thuận) or the village of Cảnh Dương; the members were volunteers and certificates were issued for them for their mission. The benefits received by the Bắc Hải team members were the same as with other teams, i.e. exemption for corvée and from miscellaneous tolls like passing guard posts or taking ferry; exemption for taxes was not mentioned. They also used private boats and fishing boats. The area for operation for the Bắc Hải team was in the South, around the Spratly Islands of today, the Poulo Condor island and the Province of Hà Tiên. The Spratly Islands area was not often affected by big storms, and therefore there were few shipwrecks in the area. As a result, the Bắc Hải team could seldom collect items from shipwrecks such as gold silver, firearms. The items they could collect were mainly sea products, particularly dolphins. Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên mentioned that the Bắc Hải team recruited its members from the villages of Tứ Chính and Cảnh Dương. They used small boats to go to the Spratly Islands to collect sea products. They were also under the Hoàng Sa’s supervision. Đại Nam nhầt thống chí, Volume 6, Province of Quảng Ngãi, also stated: “the Bắc Bải team, with mission of going to the Spratly Islands to collect sea products, was under the supervision of the Hoàng Sa team.” There

82  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty was no document on the time and date of the termination of the Bắc Hải team’s activities. Therefore we do not know if the Bắc Hải team was disbanded before or after the Hoàng Sa team. We only know for certain that the Bắc Hải team was created after the Hoàng Sa team and before 1776, i.e. before Lê Quý Đôn wrote his Phủ biên tạp lục. When the Tây Sơn uprising movement broke out, the system established by the Nguyễn Lords of guard posts, of officials responsible for the estuaries and of seaport commanders responsible for the security offshore, were severely disrupted. Many groups of pirates were active, and the sea exploitation, deep sea fishing activities were seriously affected, or even cancelled. Therefore, the people had to submit requests to the new administration, i.e. the Tây Sơn government, for permission to resume their activities. In 1773, the Tây Sơn forces seized the citadel of Quy Nhơn and advanced north to Quảng Nam. They took control of Bình Sơn (Bến Ván) and Quảng Ngãi, where the Sa Kỳ estuary and the Ré Island were located (island-district Lý Sơn of today). This was the birthplace of the Hoàng Sa team, which had begun the exploitation of the East Sea from the beginning of the XVII century. After a few years of inactivity, on the 15th Day of the 1st Month of the 36th Year of Cảnh Hưng (1775), team leader Hà Liễu, from the ward of Ré Island, village of An Vĩnh (inland), District of Bình Sơn, Province of Quảng Ngãi, submitted a request to the Tây Sơn government for the re-establishment of the Hoàng Sa and Quế Hương teams. These teams would be ready to go to the islands and to collect and submit products such as bronze and tin items, small sea turtles, eretmochelys imbricata, and to fight illegal intruders. Meanwhile, because the Tây Sơn government was newly established it was not clear if they also provided the Hoàng Sa militia with the six-month food supply or not. We only know for certain that in the following year, 1776, Lê Quý Đôn came to Phú Xuân and started writing his Phủ biên tạp lục and showed his interest in the Hoàng Sa team in Quảng Ngãi. Only in 1778, when Nguyễn Nhạc declared himself emperor, that the Tây Sơn achieved firm political control. Recently, we have discovered that in the 9th Year of Thái Đức (1786), on the 14th day of the 2nd month of the lunar calendar, the Tây Sơn government issued an order for the Marquis of Hội Đức, Commander of the Hoàng Sa team, to lead a flotilla of four fishing boats to go to the Paracel archipelago and other islands. From these aforementioned texts, it was obvious that the Tây Sơn administration has also shown interest in collecting precious objects such as gold, silver, precious stones and firearms (only available in the shipwrecks in the Paracel Islands) while, in their submission, the people of Ré Island mentioned only bronze, tin and sea products like small sea turtles and eretmochelys imbricata. The Tây Sơn government also requested that the boats (usually four boats) of the Hoàng Sa team carry the naval coat-of-arms, but reminded the team not to take advantage of being part of the navy to harass salt marsh workers and fishermen. Under the Tây Sơn administration, in addition to the Hoàng Sa team there were several other teams that also operated in the East Sea, such as Quề Hương team, Đại Mạo Hải Ba team, Quế Hương Hàm team with 30 men, which had been previously established in Ré Island.

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  83 These teams, which operated the East Sea such as the Hoàng Sa team, the Quế Hương team, the Đại Mạo Hải Ba team, the Quế Hương Hàm team, not only had economic function but also, as promised by the people of the ward of Ré Island, headed by team leader Hà Liễu, were ready to fight against invaders during war time. The Tây Sơn government must have been very happy with such military preparedness by the people. All team members were considered as soldiers. Thus, the exploitation of the resources from the sea has always been combined with military duty, anti-piracy activities, and protection of the Eat Sea. This combination has been the policy executed by the Nguyễn Lords for a long time. It was similar to the policy of establishing frontier plantation estates manned by farmersoldiers, in the territorial expansion inland. In fact, all Đại Việt (Great Viet) governments have consistently carried out that policy. In 1796, Nguyễn Ánh ordered Nguyễn Huỳnh Đức to personally and strictly supervise all commanders of seaports from Bình Khang to Diên Khánh in their uninterrupted patrol. The coastline from Quy Nhơn to Quảng Nam became the fierce battle zone between the two sides, the Tây Sơn and the Nguyễn Lords. It was during that period of time that all the sea-exploiting teams including the Hoàng Sa team were severely affected. Their activities were almost completely suspended because of lack of support from the government being totally engaged in the war. At the same time, the East Sea was infected with activities of the Chinese pirates, who started their actions in the Chinese territorial waters under the Qing Dynasty’s control and expanded to the sea area controlled by Đại Việt. The Qing Dynasty had repeatedly requested actions by the Tây Sơn, who not only did not fight against the pirates but also tried to employ them. When the Nguyễn Dynasty was established in 1802, in spite of his busy schedule in internal affairs, Emperor Gia Long was interested in both the exploitation and the security of the East Sea. Only one year after his coronation, in the 7th month of the Year of the Pig (1803), he ordered the re-establishment of the Hoàng Sa team. Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part I, Volume 12, mentioned this: “Battalion Commander Võ Văn Phú was nominated Commander of Sa Kỳ seaport, and was ordered to recruit unregistered persons to form the Hoàng Sa team.” After the war was ended, the fact that Emperor Gia Long, who nominated Võ Văn Phú Commander of Sa Kỳ seaport to re-establish the Hoàng Sa team, ordered him to recruit only “unregistered persons” was remarkable. Why? Võ Văn Phú was himself the Marquis of Phú Nhuận of the aforementioned report submitted by the Marquis of Phú Nhuận dated the 1st Day of the 10th Month of the 2nd Year of Gia Long (1803). It was recorded clearly on the report: “Imperially designated Commander of Sa Kỳ seaport, Commander of the Hoàng Sa team.” Emperor Gia Long decided to recruit only unregistered persons because, under the Tây Sơn administration, only registered persons had been recruited; the unregistered persons had only been recruited as supplementary members. Thus, the recruitment limited only among the unregistered persons would guarantee that the Hoàng Sa team would not have members who had served under the Tây Sơn administration. It was quite clear that on Ré Island there were many high-ranking officials nominated under the reign of Cảnh Thịnh. These were the grand admirals and admirals nominated by the Tây Sơn administration for their contributions in the

84  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty Hoàng Sa team. As we know now, even the Chinese pirate Tế Ngôi was recruited by the Tây Sơn in their fight against Nguyễn Ánh’s forces. That’s why, when the Tây Sơn regime collapsed, the birthplace of the Hoàng Sa team, in the transitional period between the two dynasties, was in a deep crisis in terms of the public administration at the levels of ward and village. The situation was so bad that even the low position of the keeper of the community hall could not be filled. The ward did not have any mechanism to select and nominate people for that position. Finally, it was the Commander of the Sa Kỳ seaport who had to nominate the keeper of the community hall. He selected one member of his family, who reluctantly had to accept the nomination. Assuming the position of community hall keeper, this person had to take charge of other public works within the village. Under the new regime, people like Mr. Võ Văn Khiết, who was straight, honest and industrious, were very much appreciated. Thanks to Mr. Khiết, a type of person very much needed for the transitional period, the birthplace of the Hoàng Sa team was successful in overcoming the crisis. In the 1st Month of the year of the pig (1815), Emperor Gia Long decided: “to order Phạm Quanh Ảnh belong to the Hoàng Sa team to go to the Paracel Islands and to take marine hydrological measurements” (Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part I, Volume 50, sheet 6a). 5.1.3  Activities of the Nguyễn Dynasty’s Royal Navy From 1816, Emperor Gia Long no longer gave the Hoàng Sa team the full responsibility in the mission of controlling and surveying the Paracel Islands. He began to order the Royal Navy to escort the Hoàng Sa team in the mission. The Hoàng Sa team became an organization with more civilian character. Following their tradition, the residents of Ré Island continued their seafaring, including activities in the Paracel Islands area. We have found no official text, other than the Việt sử cương giám khảo lược prepared by Nguyễn Thông in 1877, showing the termination of the Hoàng Sa team’s activities. Nguyễn Thông’ s work mentioned that the Hoàng Sa team had been disbanded for a long time before the preparation of this book (1877). Under the reign of Emperor Tự Đức, the chronicles no longer recorded the activities of the Hoàng Sa team; the reason could be found in Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part IV, prepared during Emperor Tự Đức’s reign, which mentioned that routine activities should not be recorded any more. The activities of the Hoàng Sa team as well as of the Royal Navy have become routine activities from the 17th Year of Minh Mạng (1836), as mentioned in the Khâm định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ. 5.1.3.1 Activities of planting border markers and erecting sovereignty steles on the Paracel and Spratly Islands After the Nguyễn Dynasty was founded, Emperor Gia Long re-established Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, first through the activities of the Hoàng Sa team and later by actions of the Royal Navy.

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  85 Here we would like to remind the readers again of the reports by the French who had served Emperors Gia Long and Minh Mạng, such as Chaigneau, and Bishop Taberd. They mentioned very clearly Emperor Gia Long’s activities in their previously mentioned works. For example, Chaigneau wrote in his diary Le mémoire sur la Cochinchine. “The incumbent Emperor took possession of the archipelago only in 1816.” Bishop Taberd wrote: “It was in 1816 that His Majesty (Emperor Gia Long) solemnly raised there the flag of Đàng Trong.” Missionary Gutzlaff mentioned that the government under Emperor Gia Long established a small post there to collect taxes and to protect the Vietnamese fishermen. These foreigners were not academic scholars; they simply recorded what they witnessed, not knowing how Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel Islands had been established in the past. Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part I, Volume 50, recorded the observations and surveying activities of the Hoàng Sa team under the command of Phạm Quanh Ảnh in 1815. In 1816, for the first time, Emperor Gia Long ordered his Royal Navy, under the guidance of the Hoàng Sa militiamen, to go to the Paracel Islands to patrol and to take marine hydrological measurements (Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part II, Volume 52). It was this first action by the Royal Navy that marked an important milestone in the re-establishing and exercising of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago. It led the Westerners like Chaigneau or Bishop Taberd to record that Emperor Gia Long had officially established his sovereignty over the archipelago. In reality, the event of 1816 was only the milestone for Emperor Gia Long’s use of his Royal Navy, instead of using only the Hoàng Sa team, in this mission of patrolling, surveying and exploiting the sea products. From that year on, especially under Emperor Minh Mạng’s reign, the Royal Navy has been annually and continuously involved in the exploring, surveying, planting border markers, erecting sovereignty steles and other activities in the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. The naval force involved in this mission of affirming and exercising our sovereignty was a “special task force” consisted of people recruited from the capital city, from the provinces and local militiamen. People from the capital city included a naval unit from the naval forces stationed in the capital city or at the Thuận An estuary headed by Commander plus the cartographers from the Topographical Bureau. People recruited from the provinces included government officials of the Province of Quảng Ngãi responsible for the coordination with the people from the capital city in the guidance and provision of civilian workers, in the recruitment of the militiamen of the Province of Quảng Ngãi, sometimes including militiamen of the Province of Bình Định as in the missions of 1835 and 1837. This “special task force” was always given specific instructions by the Nguyễn emperors and their activities were closely watched by them, especially by Emperors Minh Mạng and Thiệu Trị. This fact showed us the utmost importance of this “special task force.” It was also Emperor Minh Mạng who issued decrees mentioning clearly specific actions for each of the missions. For example, in the 17th Year of Minh Mạng (1836), the Ministry of Public Works submitted a report on the exploration mission

86  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty by the Royal Navy Commander Phạm Hữu Nhật, on which Emperor Minh Mạng made the following correction: “Order the Province of Quảng Ngãi to implement immediately, and have him (Phạm Hữu Nhật) acknowledge receipt of,” and then Emperor also made a comment: “Anywhere any boat can reach, border markers should be planted.” Besides, Emperor Minh Mạng also watched these missions to the Paracel Islands very closely and at the same time often issued decrees for reward or punishment. Usually, the Hoàng Sa team members from the Provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định were awarded 1 or 2 quan and were exempted from paying taxes for their hard work in the mission. On the contrary, the commanding officers, such as the company commanders, team leaders, provincial government officials, were sometimes punished for being late or negligent. All missions to the Paracel Islands were always carefully organized and planned. Leadership from the top were provided by the Emperor and the Ministry of Public Works. The execution of the mission was carried out by the Capital City Navy Unit in coordination with the Topographical Bureau, and the Provincial authority of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định. According to Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part II, Volume 165, the preparations for the Hoàng Sa mission started from the second-half of the 1st Month when the selected naval unit, soldiers and cartographers travelled in a “thuyền ô” (black-painted ship) with objective to reach Quảng Ngãi in the first half of the 2nd month. Upon their arrival, the Provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định would lease four private boats and hire navigators for the voyage to the Paracel Islands. The “thuyền ô” was a ship painted black from bow to stern, four trượng4 long, eight thước four tấc wide, three thước two tấc deep, with 30 oar posts. From the 15th Year of Minh Mạng (1834), the decree was issued instructing the coastal provinces like the Province of Quảng Ngãi to build two or three fast boats, and to recruit local people to serve as navigators and sailors, 20 people for each boat, to form a provincial naval unit to be deployed in case of emergency for fast patrol, communication and transportation. These fast boats should be built with the same size as the fishing boats, i.e. four trượng five tấc long, 1 trượng five thước five tấc wide and five thước one tấc deep. The leased private boats were fishing boats, lighter, faster and smaller than the fishing boats belonging to the naval units of the provinces including the Province of Quảng Ngãi. The reason for the leasing of private boats was due to the fact that these boats were light, fast and easy to land and to avoid submerged reefs. The sailors were good and familiar with the area, not to mention that these boats carried only a small number of people, making the transportation of sixmonth food supply easier. The catching of birds and fishes for foods was not a big problem. Thus the mission members would have more time to perform their duties: collecting precious sea products, goods, firearms and ammunition from shipwrecks. Available documents do not tell us if the back-painted boat did really go to the Paracel archipelago or not. We only know that this naval task force did have four fishing boats. Some years the mission included five boats; in these cases, the black-painted boat could be one of the five, i.e. the naval task force has coordinated its activities with the Hoàng Sa team. Later most documents no

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  87 longer mentioned the activities of the Hoàng Sa team because the Royal Navy had become the main and regular force used by the feudal government of Vietnam for this kind of mission, and the Hoàng Sa team had gradually become more civilian, assuming only an economic function. Under the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng, the Royal Navy was organized. In addition to its duties of surveying and mapping, it was also charged with planting border markers and erecting sovereignty steles in the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. Đại Nam nhất thống chí, Volume 6, mentioned that, before the 16th Year of Minh Mạng, the Emperor sent soldiers to the islands and erect a stone memorial stele. They found in the southwest an old shrine of unknown date with a stele having the inscription of “Vạn lý Ba Bình.” Thus, before the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng, the construction of shrines and steles had already occurred in the Paracel archipelago. In the 14th Year of his reign (1833), Emperor Minh Mạng ordered the Ministry of Public Works to send people to the Paracel Islands to erect sovereignty steles in the following year (1834). Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part II, Volume 165 also stated very clearly that, from the 17th Year of Minh Mạng (1836), the Ministry of Public Works submitted to the Emperor its recommendation that people should be sent every year to the Paracel Islands for not only surveying, mapping but also planting border markers and erecting sovereignty steles. The submitted report of the Ministry of Public Works dated the 12th Day of the 2nd Month of the 17th Year of Minh Mạng (1836), already cited in previous chapters, had the following red-marked royal comment by Emperor Minh Mạng: “Each boat, in exploration of Paracel Islands, must bring along 10 wooden markers, 4.5-thước long, 5-tấc wide.” Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part II, Volume 6, sheet 25b, also mentioned clearly: Emperor Minh Mạng approved request from the Ministry of Public Works, and odered navy commander Phạm Hữu Nhật to lead the flottilla, bringing along 10 wooden markers. Each maker was 5 thước long, 6 tấc wide and 1 tấc thick, with the following inscription on the surface: “In the 17th Year of Minh Mạng, Year of the Monkey, navy commander Phạm Hữu Nhật obeyed order to conduct the survey, and to plant markers in Paracel Islands to leave a trace.” The markers were always engraved with the Year of the reign, position and full name of the commander of the “naval special task force,” who obeyed order to go to Paracel Islands and to plant markers to leave a trace. If we count only those documents giving names of the commanders of these task forces, specifically such as Phạm Văn Nguyên (16th Year of Minh Mạng or 1835), Phạm Hữu Nhật (17th Year of Minh Mạng or 1836), Phạm Văn Biện (18th Year of Minh Mạng or 1837), the number of islands with planted markers was quite significant. Each boat had 10 markers. Theoretically, every year, four to five boats could plant a maximum of 40–50 markers in the islands. But in reality, it was very difficult to know how many islands that were actually marked.

88  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty 5.1.3.2 Construction of temples, shrines, and planting trees in the Paracel and Spratly Islands The Vietnamese rulers, in particular Emperor Minh Mạng, had great interest in the construction of temples and shrines and in planting trees in the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. In the 16th Year of his reign, Emperor Minh Mạng approved the recommendation from the Ministry of Public Works and ordered the Province of Quảng Ngãi to construct the one-chamber Hoàng Sa shrine. According to Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part II, Volume 154, construction of the shrine could not be carried out in the 15th Year of Minh Mạng (1834) as planned. At the beginning of the 6th Month of the 16th Year of his reign (1835), Emperor Minh Mạng finally ordered navy commander Phạm Văn Nguyên to bring soldiers, cartographers and civilian workers from the two Provinces of Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định and all needed materials to construct the new shrine at about seven trượng from the old shrine. A screen was built in front and on the left side of the new shrine. Compared to other missions, this one was much shorter because everything was done in 10 days. Usually trees were planted on the three sides of the shrine (right, left and behind). According to Việt sử cương giám khảo lược by Nguyễn Thông, the soldiers serving in the mission usually brought with them seeds that they sowed inside and outside of the area surrounding the shrine, hoping that the trees would grow to mark the location. Thus, trees on Paracel Islands have mostly grown from seeds not from young plants. This is quite logical since the transporting of young plants on boats presented some difficulties in keeping them alive. The mission in Paracel Islands was always scheduled at the end of the dry season and extending into the rainy season for several months, and therefore was very appropriate for planting trees. When he ordered people to plant trees, Emperor Minh Mạng also aimed at providing some markers helping ships to spot the islands from afar and avoid running aground.

5.2 Post-1909 continuous affirmation of sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands by successive Governments of Vietnam 5.2.1  Period of French colonial administration Throughout the colonial era, the French imposed the regime of protectorate over Central Vietnam, the area responsible for the public administration of the Paracel archipelago. Nam Kỳ (Southern Vietnam or Cochinchine in French term), which was responsible for the public administration of the Spratly archipelago, was a French colony. In reality, however, both regions were under French colonial direct control. The French had absolute authority over everything. The feudal government of the Nguyễn Dynasty became nominal. But the French colonial administration also carried out many concrete actions to consolidate, affirm and preserve Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos.

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  89 Before 1909, place-names Tây Sa (Western Sandbanks, Chinese term referring to Paracel Islands) and Nam Sa (Southern Sandbanks, Chinese term referring to Spratly Islands) did not appear on any Chinese maps. The Trung Quốc địa lí giáo khoa thư (Chinese geography textbook) by Thượng Hải thương vụ ấn thư quán (Shanghai trade publishing house), published in 1906, mentioned that the southernmost point of the Chinese territory was Hainan Island, specifically as follows: “The South begins at 18°13′ North with the coast of Châu Nhai of Quỳnh Châu Island (i.e. Hainan Island) as the terminal point”. Even in the collections of documents used to prove China’s sovereignty over the so-called Tây Sa islands such as Ngã quốc Nam Hải chư đảo sử liệu hội biên (Our country’s South Sea Islands historical document joint compilation), compiled by the Hàn Chấn Hoa group, and published in 1988, we can see that the map of Đông Sa (Eastern Sandbanks) appeared for the first time in 1913. The map with both Đông Sa and Tây Sa appeared for the first time only in the 1920s. The Chinese Government began to print the map that included the Nam Sa islands in April 1935 (in fact it was the submerged reefs called Macclesfield Bank),5 and Đoàn Sa islands (Spratly Islands,6 or Trường Sa of Vietnam). After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, Japan occupied Taiwan and showed some interest in expanding their influence toward South East Asia. After the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, China was afraid of the Japanese military might and tried to limit the expansion of Japan’s influence to the South. On July 2, 1907, the Japanese trader Nishizawa Yoshiksugu, from Cơ Long (of Taiwan), rallied a group of 120 people and landed on Pratas7 Islands, where they built houses, raised the Japanese flag, and erected “cây nêu” (new-year pole), meticulously recorded the history of the island, and gave it the name of Nishizawa Island. This archipelago was located at 19°42′ North and 116°42 East, about 108 nautical miles from Hong Kong. The Japanese planted a wooden post with the inscription of “the 8th month of the Year of Minh Trị (Mutsuhito),” on the front and “Nishizawa Island” on the back. The event relating to the Japanese occupation of the Pratas Islands in 1907 led the Chinese to start having intention to violate Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands. During that period of time Vietnam was under French domination, and its foreign relations depended on the French administration in accordance with the Patenôtre Treaty of 1884. The letter of the French consul in Guangzhou to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, dated May 4, 1909, showed clearly China’s intention to violate Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands. The letter contained the following paragraph: Like I  have presented to you at the end of my recent report (number 86, May 1, 1909) on the issue of the Pratas Island, this event has led the Chinese Government to pay attention to other groups of islands along its coast, and, to some extent, in some area considered as part of its territory, including the Paracel archipelago.

90  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty This letter also contained a number of remarkable points as follows: • • •

The Japanese occupation of the Pratas Islands (Đông Sa) led China to show its interest to occupy the whole Paracel archipelago close to Hainan Island. The first illegal survey led by Ngô Kính Vinh revealed that each island of the Paracel archipelago had a small shrine with its roof and its walls all being made of corals and seashells. The Vietnamese fishermen lived on Paracel Islands with their families; all of them were badly mistreated and their wives and children were brought to Hainan Island and were imprisoned there.

P.A. La Picque, living in Hong Kong in 1909, recounted the survey of the Paracel archipelago by the Guangdong government in 1909 as follows: At the end of May  1909, two small gunboats from Guangzhou were made ready; aboard, in addition to the Chinese sailors, there were two Germans of the Maison Carlwitz. Among the Chinese there was an admiral apparently from the “river forces.” Although this small flotilla, navigating close to land, reached Du Lâm, a seaport located in the South of Hainan Island, it was detained there for half a month, waiting for the “Fong-sami” winds to subside and the sea to be calm and became easier for the sailors to bear. Finally, on June 6, 1909, the expedition reached an island of the Paracel archipelago. After having visited a few more islands, on June 7, 1909, around 4 PM, the flotilla returned to Guangzhou as reported by the Kono Che Pao (the largest newspaper of Guangzhou) in an article of the issue of June 20, 1909. After this illegal symbolic survey, in the 1st Year of Tuyên Thống, the Guangdong Governor Trương Nhân Tuấn sent a Memo ordering Vương Bỉnh Ẩn of Nhiệt Hà Đạo and Lý Triết Tuấn of Bổ Phụng Đạo (Tổng Biện trực lệ, Nhiệt Hà Đạo Vương Bỉnh Ân ở Trù Biện Sứ Cục Tư Nghị và (Lý) Triết Tuấn ở Bổ Phụng Đạo) to discuss and plan what should be done in the Paracel archipelago. Trù Biện Tây Sa Đảo Sự Vụ Xứ (Western Sandbanks Affairs Planning Agency) has created a list of 10 general points to consider regarding the Paracel issue. In this list, point no. 1 was for a plan of surveying in Paracel Islands (something which had been carried out very carefully by Vietnam from the first-half of the XIX century, under Emperors Gia Long, Minh Mạng, and Thiệu Trị). Point no. 10 suggested that three gunboats, Phục Ba, Thấm Hàng and Quảng Kim, be sent to the Paracel archipelago; it also recommended that the small canoes carried on the gunboats be used in the surveying mission for speed and convenience. These two points were mentioned again in Trần Thiên Tích in the section for Tây Sa Đảo, Thành An Hội Biên in his Tây Sa đảo, Đông Sa đảo thành an hội biên (Western and Eastern Sandbank Islands peaceful settlement joint compilation), published in 1928. After that, the subordinate units (ti, đạo) of the Trù Biện Tây Sa Đảo Sự Vụ Xứ submitted to Governor Trương Nhân Tuấn a list of

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  91 eight concrete measures, which Trương Nhân Tuấn subsequently reported to the Qing royal court. However, during that time, until the French, on behalf of Vietnam, carried out concrete actions to exercise sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, the Central Government of China in Beijing did not show very much interest in the sovereignty issue over the Paracel archipelago, which they called Tây Sa, and did not carry out any concrete actions on the issue, except for the activities by the provincial government, in this case specifically by the Province of Guangdong. Actions by a provincial government have never been officially recognized by other countries, and, thus, did not carry any weight in international laws. Regrettably, according to the Patenôtre Treaty of 1884, the French should have objected to the Chinese actions (though the actions were carried out only by a province) but they did not. That was exactly what was written in the letter no. 35, dated July 28, 1930, by Mr. Wilden, French plenipotentiary in China, to Mr. A. Briand of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Although France has never recognized China’ sovereignty over this archipelago, we still made a mistake in ignoring and not objecting to actions by China, which, for the past few years, had showed its determination to consider Paracel Islands as one part of its territory, and tried to confront us with an accomplished act. Meanwhile, the Huế royal court has become nominal from the reign of Đồng Khánh. Under Emperor Khải Định, the authority was in the hands of the French Resident Le Fol. Only after the Chinese, by an order of the military command of South China, decided to administratively incorporate Paracel Islands into the Disctrict of Châu Nhai, Hainan Island, Province of Guangdong, that the French began to show more interest in these islands. From 1909 to 1925, the French colonial government in Vietnam gradually came to realize the strategic importance of the Paracel archipelago. They were anxious that another country might occupy this strategic location on the seaway from Saigon to Hong Kong. Preserved official and private documents of the Office of the French GovernorGeneral in Saigon and of the French Ministry of Colonial Affairs did not mention clearly the long-time sovereignty of the “Vietnamese kingdom” over Paracel Islands. They only mentioned that a number of Vietnamese fishermen from Central Vietnam had lived on these islands with their families, and there had been some bloody confrontations between them and the Chinese from Hainan Island. According to the letter, dated January 22, 1926, from Central Vietnam French Resident Le Fol to the Governor-General of Indochina, only from 1925 the French started to conduct some in-depth research studies on the history of the affirmation of sovereignty by the “Vietnamese kingdom” over Paracel Islands, before assigning Mr. M.A. Krempt, Director of the Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography, to head an expedition to this archipelago.

92  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty Through results of the research studies on the Paracel archipelago, Central Vietnam French Resident Le Fol, in his letter, dated January  22, 1929, to the Governor-General of Indochina, stated: In his work Géographie de la Cochinchine (Geography of Cochinchina), translated into English and published in the Journal de la Société Asiatique du Bengale (Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal), 1838, Bishop JeanLouis Taberd, Bishop of Ismaropolis, recounted the 1816 event in which Emperor Gia Long had taken possession of the Paracel archipelago and had the flag of Cochinchina raised on it. This event was also recorded in the Vietnamese chronicles such as the Đại Nam nhất thống chí, Nam Việt địa dư (Geography of South Vietnam, or Geography of An Nam), Volume 2, published in the 14th Year of Minh Mạng, Đại Nam nhất thống chí, Volume 6 (or Geography of Duy Tân), and other documents archived by the government of Annam, which provided us with details of activities of the Hoàng Sa team and of the Bắc Hải team under supervision of the Hoàng Sa team. It was also in this letter that Mr. Le Fol stated that Mr. Thân Trọng Huề, Minister of Justice of the Huế royal court had affirmed: “These small islands have always been parts of Annam’s territory, no disputes ever arisen.” The French thought that, since the Paracel archipelago has always been under Vietnam’s sovereignty, no action was needed to take possession of these islands. In 1925 the first survey of Paracel Islands was carried out by Mr. M.A. Krempt, Director of the Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography with other scientists like Delacour, Jabouille. Two years later, in July  1927, the Service of Geology and Marine Biology sent its staff to survey the Spratly archipelago. The surveys mainly studied the atolls8 of the submerged reefs in Paracel Islands, for example the Discovery Reef. From these studies, the researchers would be able to explain the formation of the atolls under the influence of the monsoon. On March  8, 1925, the Governor-General of Indochina declared Vietnam’s Paracel and Spratly archipelagos parts of French territory. In November 1928, the Governor of Nam Kỳ (Cochinchina) issued a permit allowing the newly incorporated Tonkin Phosphate Company to study mining prospects in the Spratly archipelago. From 1929 onward, the French news media in Indochina also raised the issue of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago. Continuously from issue no. 606 (January 27, 1929) to issue no. 623 (May 26, 1929), journalist Henri Cucherousset has repeatedly introduced the issue of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands, reproached the French government for neglecting to affirm and preserve the sovereignty over the islands, and, at the same time, suggested concrete actions for the colonial government to take. In his letter, dated March  20, 1930, to the Minister of Colonial Affairs, the Governor-General of Indochina also ascertained that: “I completely agree with the contents of the letter sent to you that it is necessary to recognize the benefits

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  93 of France in demanding, on behalf of Vietnam, the sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago.” This sentence was echoed quite clearly in the Note to the Directorate of Asia-Oceania, dated May 15, 1950, from the Legal Advisor of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The taking of possession of the Spratly archipelago by France in 1930–1932 was on behalf of the Emperor of Annam. In this case, the nominal right that France requested here was the exercising of the sovereignty of Annam that had existed in the past, and France, as the Protector of Annam, responsible for Annam’s foreign affairs, could use this authority to oppose any third-country and receive international judgement regarding these above-mentioned rights. As the conventional relations between France and Annam as affirmed by the Patenôtre Treaty were still in force, the French government had the right to act on behalf of the protected country, representing the protected country in exercising the right that the protected country could not exercise. On April  13, 1930, the dispatch boat La Malicieuse made the voyage to the Spratly archipelago and had the French national flag raised there. The announcement of September 23, 1930 made it clear to other powers the French occupation of the Spratly archipelago. In 1931 and 1932, there were several articles on the L’Eveil Économique de l’Indochine that posed difficult questions for Governor-General Pasquier. These public opinion pressures in the news media by the French in Indochina forced the French government to act. On April 29, 1932, the French government sent (to the Chinese government) a protest in which it showed evidences of the possession of the Paracel and Spratly archipelago by Vietnam. After that, for the first time, France suggested that this conflict be resolved by international tribunals. China rejected this proposal. On April 13, 1933, a flotilla of the French Extreme-Orient naval forces, including dispatch boat La Malicieuse, gunboat Alerte, hydrographic ships Astrobale and De Lanessan, under the command of navy commander De Lattre, left Saigon for Spratly Islands. The taking of possession of the islands was carried out in accordance with traditional Western procedures. A text was drafted and all boat captains signed and 11 copies were made for each of the islands. Each copy was put in a bottle that was attached to a cemented post erected at a designated and fixed location on the surface of each island. French national flag was raised while trumpet was played on each island. On July 26, 1933, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs published an Announcement on the Official Journal of the French Republic,9 regarding the taking possession of a number of islands by the French Navy. The Announcement clearly stated that the islands and islets listed in the Announcement were now under France’s sovereignty. The list included a total of six groups of islands: •

Spratly Island (Trường Sa) (8°39’ latitude North – 111°55’ longitude East) and the dependent islets; possession taken on April 13, 1930.

94  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty • • • • •

Amboyna Cay Island (7°52’ latitude North – 112°55’ longitude East), and the dependent islets; possession taken on April, 7 1933. Itu Aba Island (10°22’ latitude North  – 114°21’ longitude East), and the dependent islets; possession taken on April 10, 1933. North Danger Reef (11°29’ latitude North – 114°21’ longitude East), and the dependent islets; possession taken on April 10, 1933. Loaita Island (10°42’ latitude North  – 114°25’ longitude East), and the dependent islets; possession taken on April 11, 1933. Thitu Island (11°7’ latitude North – 114°16’ longitude East), and the dependent islets, possession taken on April 12, 1933.

On December  21, 1933, the Governor of Nam Kỳ (Cochinchina) M.J. Krautheimer signed decree no. 4762, incorporating Spratly Island, and the small islands Amboyna Cay, Itu Aba, North Danger Reef, Loaita Island and Thitu Islands belonging to the Spratly archipelago in the East Sea (South China Sea) into the Province of Bà Rịa. The aforementioned decree was based on the following: • • • •

Announcement by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, published in the Official Journal of the French Republic dated July 26, 1933, regarding the taking of possession of a number of islands by the French Navy. Letters no. 634 and 2243 – AP by the Governor-General of Indochina, dated August 24 and September 14, 1933, relating to the merging of the islands and small islands of the Spratly Islands (or Storm Islands). Discussions of the Colonial Council on October 22, 1933. Consultation with the Advisory Council.

From 1934 to 1935, the Marine and Land Map Review Committee under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior of the Nationalist Republic of China secretly began to give the name of Đoàn Sa Islands to the Spratly Islands belonging to Vietnam. It also transcribed literally around 124 islands, rocks, submerged reefs of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos on Western sea charts. At that moment, China had only names for Đông Sa, Tây Sa, Nam Sa and Đoàn Sa. It did not have name for Trung Sa yet. The name of Trung Sa appeared only in December of 1947, to be used for Nam Sa, while Nam Sa was used for Đoàn Sa. Thus, there was no consistency in calling the islands. Regarding the locations of the islands, there was no consistency either. These islands were said to be close to the shore as with Vạn Lý Thạch Đường; Nam Sa was first put close to Macclesfield Bank and later within the Spratly Islands in the South. After the surveys carried out in Paracel Islands by the Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography from 1925 to 1937, Chief Engineer for Public Works J. Gauthier, on behalf of the French colonial government, protector of Vietnam, undertook a study regarding the feasibility of the construction of a lighthouse on Paracel Islands. To implement the ults of Gauthier’s study, from 1938, France began to send security units to the islands.

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  95 On the 29th Day of the 2nd Month of the 13th Year of his reign (1938), Emperor Bảo Đại signed the Decree-Law no. 10 with the following contents: Considering the Paracel Islands have belonged to Annam for a long time, and under previous dynasties these islands were parts of the Province of Nam Ngãi. During his reign, Our Dynasty’s Founding Emperor has followed this practice because all contacts and communications with these islands were made through the estuaries of the Province of Nam Ngãi. Now, thanks to the advance in the marine navigation, the nature of today’s contacts has changed. Our Annam’s royal court representative on a mission to these islands together with representatives of the Protectorate Government have submitted a request to the Palace that these Paracel Islands be incorporated into the Province of Thừa Thiên for convenience.” The Emperor decreed: “Approval granted for the incorporation of Paracel Islands into the Province of Thừa Thiên; administratively, these islands are to be placed under the authority of the Head of this Province. As a development from the study by J. Gauthier, in 1938, a sovereignty memorial stele was erected on Pattle Island (of Paracel Islands) with this inscription: “French Republic – Kingdom of Annam – Paracel Archipelago – 1816 – Pattle Island 1938.” Also in that year, a lighthouse, a meteorological station (OMM10 registration no. 48860) and a TSF wireless communication station were constructed on Pattle Island. The meteorological station with OMM registration no. 48859 was constructed on Woody Island. At the same time, a sovereignty memorial stele, a lighthouse, a meteorological station and a wireless communication station were also constructed on Itu Aba Island. In June 1938, a unit of security guards arrived in Paracel Islands. On May 5, 1939, Governor-General of Indochina Jules Brévié issued the Decree no. 3282, making changes to the Decree no. 156-SC signed on June  15, 1932, establishing two administrative delegations (units) on the Paracel archipelago. The full text of this Decree no. 3282 was published in the Bulletin Administratif de l’Annam (Administrative Bulletin of Annam), 1939, no. 9, p. 872. This Decree was issued to make changes to the Decree no. 156-SC, giving instructions for the establishment of an administrative unit, i.e. the District of Hoàng Sa, on the Paracel archipelago, belonging to the Province of Thừa Thiên (Central Vietnam). It also created two administrative units on the Paracel archipelago belonging to the Province of Thừa Thiên called Administrative Delegation Crescent with adjacent area and Administrative Delegation Amphitrite with adjacent area. The demarcation line between these two administrative delegations was the longitude 112° East, with the exception of the Vuladdore Reef, which belonged entirely to the Administrative Delegation Crescent. The administrative envoys heading these two delegations were given status of Representatives on Pattle Island and on Woody Island of the French Resident of the Province of Thừa Thiên. Each envoy would receive administrative stipend provided by the Decree

96  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty dated 28–12–1934. This stipend would be paid by the Central Vietnam regional budget, chapter 12, article 6, section 3. On March 31, 1939, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Japan would control the Spratly archipelago. The announcement, sent to the French Ambassador in Japan, affirmed that the Japanese were the first people to explore the Spratly archipelago in 1917. Japan noticed that “there was no local administrative authority there; that this situation (the French proclamation of sovereignty over the Spratly Islands) is injurious to Japan’s interest, and, in the long term, might cause problems with France.” On April  4, 1939, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a diplomatic note objecting Japan’s announcement and affirming France’s rights. France was supported by the United Kingdom. In the debate of April 5, 1939 in Parliament, the representative of the British Foreign Office affirmed that France had complete sovereignty over the Spratly archipelago. In its preparations for the invasion of South East Asia, Japan had occupied Woody Island in 1938 and Itu Aba Island of the Spratly archipelago in 1939. After its coup d’état against the French in Indochina (March 9, 1945), Japan captured the French garrison on Spratley Islands as prisoners of war. Throughout the whole period of French colonial administration, French authorities have never abandoned the kingdom of Annam’s sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago that France had the responsibility to protect. In 1946, the Japanese military withdrew from both Paracel and Spratly Islands. From May 1946, a French army unit, transported on the Savorgnan de Brazza, landed on these islands to replace the Japanese force, but it stayed there for only a few months. During the period of May  20–27, 1946, Admiral D’Argenlieu, French High Commissioner of Indochina, also sent frigate L’Escarmouche to Pattle Island of the Paracel archipelago to assess the situation. At the time when the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam under the leadership of President Ho Chi Minh was preoccupied with preparations for the upcoming general resistance war against the French, on October 8, 1946, a naval task force of four ships of the Nationalist Republic of China departed from the Ngô Tùng seaport to go to Paracel Islands. Each ship transported representatives from different government agencies and 59 soldiers of the independent platoon of guards of the navy (predecessors of the Marines). On November 29, 1946, the two ships Vĩnh Hưng and Trung Kiên arrived in Paracel Islands and the troops landed there. The other two ships Thái Bình and Trung Nghiệp went to Spratly Islands (at that time, China still called these islands Đoàn Sa, not Nam Sa yet). In the meeting of October 11, 1946, the Inter-Ministry Committee on Indochina of the Provisional Government of France decided to re-affirm France’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands, and to demonstrate the re-possession of the islands by the construction of a meteorological station there. In General Juin’s opinion, France’s “top interest” was to prevent any power from having any intention to occupy these islands, which had an important position in the control of the access to the Cam Ranh Bay, and the seaway Cam Ranh – Guangzhou – Shanghai (Letter no. 199/DN/S.col dated October 7, 1946, by General Juin, Head of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces).

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  97 The Government of France officially lodged objection to the aforementioned illegal occupation by the Nationalist Republic of China. On October  17, 1947, French despatch vessel Tonkinois was sent to Paracel Islands, demanding the Chinese to withdraw from Woody Island, but was met with Chinese refusal. Subsequently, the French send an army unit including soldiers of the “State of Vietnam” to Pattle Island. The Government of Nationalist Republic of China objected to this move and the negotiations between the two parties were carried out from February 25 to July 4, 1947 in Paris. China did not agree with France’s suggestion that the conflict be resolved by an international tribunal. On December 1, 1947, the Ministry of the Interior of the Nationalist Republic of China officially announced the Chinese names for these two archipelagos and declared that they belonged to the Chinese territory. Vietnam had reclaimed its independence since 1945, and thus was no longer bound by the Patenôtre Treaty signed with France, but France believed that, under the Preliminary Accords of March 6, 1946, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, a member state of the French Union, was still dependent on France diplomatically. France, therefore, still exercised its right to represent Vietnam in the fighting against the violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. After that, France created the pro-France government, called State of Vietnam, headed by former Emperor Bảo Đại, as opposed to the revolutionary government led by President Ho Chi Minh. In April 1949, Prince Bửu Lộc, Chief of Cabinet of Chief of State Bảo Đại, in a press conference in Saigon officially re-affirmed Vietnam’s long-time sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago. On October 1, 1949, the People’s Republic of China was established on mainland China; the Nationalist Republic Government by Chiang Kai Shek had moved to Taiwan. In April 1950, their troops, which had occupied Woody Island illegally, withdrew completely from the Paracel archipelago. The French garrison on Pattle Island meanwhile remained in place. On October 14, 1950, the French government officially transferred to the government of the State of Vietnam the administrative authority over the Paracel archipelago. Phan Văn Giáo, Governor of Central Vietnam, presided over the transfer of power in Paracel Islands. For the San Francisco Conference in 1951, see Chapter 6. 5.2.2  Period of temporary division of Vietnam The Geneva Accords, signed on July 21, 1954, ending war and restoring peace in Indochina, recognized the independence, sovereignty, territory integrity, and unity of Vietnam. Article 1 of the Accords mentioned that the temporary military demarcation line would be fixed at the Bến Hải River (17th parallel). According to Article 4 of the Accords, this temporary demarcation line would also be prolonged by a straight line from the shore to the open sea. According to Article 14 of the Accords, while waiting for the general election for Vietnam, each grouping force would be charged with the administration of its zone of grouping. The Paracel and Spratly archipelagos in the East Sea, being located South of the 17th parallel,

98  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty would be under the administration of the government responsible for South of the 17th parallel. Thus, the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos were under the administration of the Government of the Republic of Vietnam. At that time, these two archipelagos were not occupied by any foreign forces but the French ones. The government of the zone south of the 17th parallel had to take charge of the two archipelagos offshore from the coast of South Vietnam. From that time to 1956, the army of the State of Vietnam (Republic of Vienam) has occupied the western islands of the Paracel archipelago. On June 1, 1956, Mr. Vũ Văn Mẫu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Vietnamese Government, issued a declaration to re-affirm Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. After having occupied the western islands of the Paracel archipelago, on August 2, 1956, naval forces of the Government of the Republic of Vietnam landed on the main islands of the archipelago, erecting a stone post and raising the national flag. In October 1956, Taiwanese navy came to occupy Itu Aba Island. On October 22, 1956, the President of the Republic of Vietnam issued the Decree-Law no. 143/NV, making changes in the distribution of the provinces in the Nam Việt (Nam Bộ, or southern part of the country). In the list of the administrative units of “Nam Việt” (Nam Bộ) attached to the Decree-Law there were several changes in the names of the provinces, in which the Province of Bà Ria-Vũng Tàu was now called Phước Tuy, and the Spratly Island belonging to the Province of Phước Tuy was called Hoàng Sa, same name as the Paracel archipelago in the north. On July 13, 1961, the Decree-Law no. 174/NV by the President of the Republic of Vietnam placed the Paracel archipelago under the administrative authority of the Province of Quảng Nam, and created in this archipelago a village called Định Hải, part of the District of Hòa Vang. The aforementioned Decree-Law stated: The Paracel archipelago, which used to belong to the Province of Thừa Thiên, is now part of the Province of Quảng Nam (Article 1). An administrative unit encompassing the whole archipelago with name of Village of Định Hải is hereby created, which will be a part of the District of Hòa Vang. The Village of Định Hải will be placed under the authority of an administrative official (Article 2). In February 1959, many Chinese fishermen arrived and attempted to occupy the western part of the Paracel archipelago but did not succeed. They were arrested by the Republic of Vietnam’s naval forces and returned to China. On September 6, 1973, the Government of the Republic of Vietnam incorporated the Spratly archipelago into Phước Hải, District of Đất Đỏ, Province of Phước Tuy. 5.2.3  Period of reunified Vietnam On September  9, 1975, at the World Meteorological Congress, representatives of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam

Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty  99 continued to register the Vietnamese meteorological station on the Paracel archipelago. On September  24, 1975, at the meeting with the delegation representing The Party and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam led by SecretaryGeneral Lê Duẩn, Chinese leader Đặng Tiểu Bình declared that both sides would discuss the issue of Tây Sa and Nam Sa (i.e. Vietnam’s Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa). On April 25, 1976, the general election for the unified National Assembly was organized country-wide. More than 23  million voters casted their ballots and elected 492 Representatives. At the end of June 1976 and beginning of July 1976, the new National Assembly (The Sixth), First Session, was convened in Hanoi, and decided to change the country’s name to Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with Hanoi as the Capital City, adopted National Emblem, National Flag and National Anthem, and changed the name of Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City. The National Assembly also elected the top government officials: President Tôn Đức Thắng, Prime Minister Phạm Văn Đồng and Chairman of the Permanent Executive Committee of the National Assembly (i.e. House Speaker) Trường Chinh. Thus, in terms of government structure, the reunification of the country was officially completed. On January 1, 1977, in Ho Chi Minh City, the people’s fronts of both regions met and decided to be unified into the Vietnamese National Front of the Fatherland. On December 28, 1980, the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was passed by the National Assembly. All the aforementioned activities formed the legal basis for the reunification of the country. Thus, the government of the reunified Vietnam inherited the Republic of Vietnam’s refusal to abandon the sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. On May 12, 1977, the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam issued an announcement on the seas and the continental shelf of Vietnam. In his diplomatic visits to the Philippines (September 1977), and to Malaysia (October 1977), Prime Minister Phạm Văn Đồng agreed with President Ferdinand Marcos (Philippines) and Prime Minister Hussein Onn (Malaysia) that both sides would resolve all conflicts and disagreements by peaceful negotiations.

Notes 1 “Lễ khao lề thế lính Hoàng Sa”: can be considered as the live funeral service for the soldiers of Hoàng Sa. When the Hoàng Sa team was still in operation, knowing the danger of their mission, the families of the team members, from the evening of the 19th Day of the 2nd Month of the lunar calendar, used dummies made of banana tree trunks in the ceremony to pray for the safe return of their relatives from their mission in Paracel Islands. 2 Drawings by Nguyễn Hạp, researched by Nguyễn Nhã from the district-island of Lý Sơn (excerpt from Nguyễn Nhã’s doctoral dissertation). 3 Drawings by Nguyễn Hạp, researched by Nguyễn Nhã from the district-island of Lý Sơn (excerpt from Nguyễn Nhã’s doctoral dissertation). 4 Trượng = 2 ngũ = 10 thước = 100 tấc = 4.7 m. 5 Macclesfield Bank: a sunken atoll or submerged reefs, sometimes called Trung Sa (Central Sandbanks) or Nam Sa by China; it was merged into Tam Sa (Triple Sandbanks) from 2007, and in 2012 was elevated to Town of Tam Sa.

100  Vietnam’s affirmation of sovereignty 6 Spratly Islands: English name (or Spratley in French) for Trường Sa of Vietnam. The plural form of the English name, Spratlys or Spratlies, is used for the whole archipelago, not just the largest island of the archipelago. The plural form of the French name is Spratleys. 7 Pratas: name of a British captain used to call the group of coral islands located at about 400 km south east of the Châu Giang estuary at the end of the XIX century when his ship came ashore to avoid a storm. This place-name appeared on the map in the South China Sea directory published by the British Navy in 1894. 8 In marine navigation terminology, an atoll is a submerged reef or sandbank shallow enough to cause the ships to run aground. The most commonly known atoll is the coral atoll of the tropical seas, developed through the biological calcification process of coral and algae. 9 Announcement in the Official Journal of the French Republic: another announcement in the Official Journal of the French Republic dated July 26, 1933, deleting the date of July 10, 1933, and recording the date of July 26, 1933. (The full text can be read in the Official Journal of the French Republic of July 26, 1933, section Announcement – Communication of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, p. 7794). 10 OMM: Organisation météorologique mondiale = World Meteorological Organization (or WMO).

6 Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands within the international community Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly IslandsSovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands

6.1  The 1951 San Francisco Conference In September 1951, an international conference was convened in San Francisco, California, US, for the Allies to sign the peace treaty with Japan, officially ending the Second World War. There were three important events that were relevant to the issue of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos: • •

•

Japan renounces all right, title and claim to the Spratly Islands and to the Paracel Islands.1 On September 7, Mr. Trần Văn Hữu, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Vietnam Delegation, (Head of State: Bào Ðại, former Emperor of Vietnam), solemnly declared that the two Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos were parts of Vietam’s territory;2 no objection from the Conference was recorded. Soviet Union Foreign Minister Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko proposed 13 amendments to the treaty. The amendment related to the Japan’s recognition of the People’s Republic of China’s sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago and other farther south islands was rejected by the conference with 48 no votes and 3 yes votes.3

Thus, the 1951 San Francisco Conference was the first and only one opportunity for the Government of Vietnam to affirm its sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelago before the international community, and, as expected, it had no objection or second opinion from any country.

6.2  Collateral issues 6.2.1  The East Sea The issue of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands cannot be fully understood without an adequate knowledge of the issues regarding the East Sea.

102  Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands Western navigators from the XVI century often called the East Sea the Sea of Champa (Ciampa), or the Sea of China or the South China Sea. This naming method was in the same tradition of calling the sea around India the Indian Ocean, but the Indian Ocean never belonged to India just like the Sea of China never was part of China. The Paracel and Spratly archipelagos are located in the East Sea. The opening section of the Law of the Sea, which was recently passed by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, affirms Vietnam’s sovereignty over these two archipelagos. The Hoàng Sa (Paracel) archipelago lies in an area of 15,000 km2 (square kilometres), between 111° to 113° longitude East or about 95 nautical miles wide, and 15°45′ to 17°15′ latitude North4 or about 90 nautical miles long. The archipelago is surrounded by the open sea more than 1,000 m deep, but between the islands the depth is usually less than 100 m. The islands of this archipelago are scattered offshore along the coast of the Provinces of Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên – Huế, Quảng Nam and one part of Quảng Ngãi. The distance from Triton Island of the Paracel archipelago to the Ba Làng An (Three Villages Having Names Beginning With An) Cape of the Vietnamese inland is about 135 nautical miles. This distance is only 123 nautical miles if we count only to Ré Island, while the distance from the nearest island to Hainan Island of China is 140 nautical miles, and to mainland China is at least 235 nautical miles. The section of the coast from Quảng Trị to Quảng Ngãi facing the islands of the Paracel archipelago receives the north-easterly or south-easterly monsoon, and often boats/ships damaged by storms are washed ashore on this coast. The Vietnamese lords and kings usually provided the victims of those shipwrecks with the necessary means for them to return to their country. Being aware of this generosity, these victims usually found ways to reach the Vietnamese coast in order to get help. The islands of the Trường Sa archipelago are scattered offshore along the coast of the Provinces of Khánh Hòa, Ninh Thuận, Bình Thuận, Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, Ho Chi Minh City, Long An, Tiền Giang, Bến Tre, Trà Vinh, Sóc Trăng, Bạc Liêu and Cà Mau. The Trường Sa archipelago is called by the French Archipel des îles Spratley; the British and Americans call them Spratly5 Islands or Spratlies. The distance from the Spratly archipelago to Vũng Tàu is 305 nautical miles, to Cam Ranh Bay (250 nautical miles), to Phú Quốc Island (240 nautical miles), to Bình Thuận (Phan Thiết; 270 nautical miles). Its total land surface area is about 11 km2, mainly with islets, rocks; the area of land above the sea surface is not extensive. The surface level of the East Sea is at the standard height in the Geoid system while other seas levels can be 90 m higher or 80 m lower. Geologically, the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos are both formed by coral reefs typical of the tropical sea of Vietnam. The islands such as the Pescadores or

Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands  103 Taiwan in the North, formed by rocks of the Asian continent like granite, igneous rock, are totally different from the islands formed by corals in the East Sea. The continental shelf of the Vietnamese territory in the Gulf of Tonkin is quite wide in the north, then gradually becomes narrower in Central Vietnam, and finally drops away in the South. According to the International Conference on the Law of the Sea in 1982, with the distance of 200 nautical miles of the territorial waters, the coral reefs such as the Vanguard Bank, all are located within the continental shelf and the economic exclusive zone (EEZ) of Vietnam. In terms of depth, the East Sea has a line of equal depth of 100 m surrounding its north and east zones. In hypothetical case of a lowering of the sea level of 600–1,000 m, the Paracel archipelago would be linked to Vietnam’s inland to form a block while still separated from China by a deep sea area. The fauna on the islands and in the sea of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, such as turtle, eretmochelys imbricata, sea turtle, sea cucumber, elephant-ear cochleae, babylonia areolata, are quite similar to the fauna on the islands close to the coast like Ré Island. According to the researcher Henri La Fontaine (France), scientific surveys have revealed that the biological species found on the islands of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos are the same as those found on inland areas of Vietnam. The East Sea and Vietnam are located in the zone, which biologists call Wallacca, after the British biologist Alfred Russel Wallace. Wallacca is the living zone of East Asian animals. China is located outside of this East Asia biological zone. The East Sea has a sea current that changes course yearly following the monsoon. During the north-easterly monsoon from September to March, this sea current flows in counter-clockwise direction. The sea current flows fast from the island of Taiwan to the Paracel archipelago; when it reaches the coast of Central Vietnam, its speed increases. The victims of shipwrecks, the workers of the meteorological station of Paracel Islands after the Japanese military coup of March 1945 and the navy men of the Republic of Vietnam after the Chinese invasion of Paracel Islands in January 1974 all were helped by this sea current to float their rafts to Quy Nhơn and offshore of Ré Island. On the west side of Spratly Islands, the sea current flows in the opposite direction toward the northeast. This opposite current has lower speed, and, in the area close to ­Palawan Island (Philippines), the current flows in the southwest direction. During the southwest monsoon, the sea current flows in clockwise direction from Malaysia going along the coast of Central Vietnam to the Paracel archipelago. The opposite current flows from the east of the Paracel archipelago to the Spratly archipelago at low speed. Every year, the sea current in the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos areas will change its course twice. The current in the Spratly archipelago area is not as strong as the one in the Paracel archipelago area. In the naval battle of 1988, after the ships of the Vietnamese Navy were sunk, the surviving Vietnamese sailors on the floating rafts were not carried far due to the low speed of the current. The East Sea, especially in the Paracel archipelago area, is often the centre of many tropical storms, either low-pressure systems forming close to the two

104  Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands archipelagos and turning into tropical storms, or storms coming over from the Philippines. Many storms are originated from the East of the Philippines. Less than 1% of the storms originated from the East Sea move to Hainan Island. Also less than 1% of the storms originated from offshore of Brunei move to the Gulf of Thailand. About 1/3 of the storms originated from the Pacific Ocean, through the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos areas, landed in the coast of Central Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin of Vietnam. Most storms usually come during the transitional period from June to September. The number of storms decreases after September, but, in some years, they still come even in January. When a storm originated from the Philippines occurs, the experienced seafarers can recognize its signals: high waves moving fast in front of the storm, the air becomes muggy, air pressure drops quickly and high clouds move quickly. A few hours later, the sky will be covered by very thin cirrostratus clouds, the sun is surrounded by a halo, then the sky gradually become whitened. After that, cirrocumulus clouds and then altostratus clouds begin to appear, the whole sky darkens, and rains start to come down, winds blow, air pressure continues to go down rapidly, fast-moving low clouds come down to 100 m or even 50 m, strong winds blow in gusts and the storm comes. When these warning signs appear, all ships will try to move rapidly to the South in order to reach the coast of Central Vietnam. It was this natural condition that created the relationship between the inland of Vietnam and the islands of the Paracel archipelago. The flora surveys by Henri La Fontaine in the Paracel archipelago have led him to the conclusion that the flora is not local, but is originated from the inland and has been brought there by different means. Also according to the scientific analysis by Henri La Fontaine and Lê Văn Hội in their article “Contribution à la connaissance de la flore des îles Paracels,” in the Annales de la Faculté des sciences, Saigon, 1957, pp.  133–137, every species of vegetation found in the Paracel archipelago is found in Vietnam, in particular in the provinces of Central Vietnam. Trees such as calophyllum inophyllum, morinda citrifolia L, terminalia catappa, of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos are found in Ré Island or in other places along the coast of Vietnam. The flora of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos is originated from the inland of Vietnam. This statement is not only based on scientific surveys by scientists but also based on Vietnamese official chronicles such as the Đại Nam thực lục chính biên, Part II, Volume 104, Khâm Định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ (1851), Volume 207, sheet 25b, Việt sử cương giám khảo lược (1876), Volume 4, by Nguyễn Thông, where there are paragraphs mentioning that Emperor Minh Mạng ordered the planting of many trees so that when they grow and reach maturity, people would be able to see them from afar, and, thus, their ships would not run aground in the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. The fact that the Nguyễn Dynasty, especially under Emperor Minh Mạng’s reign, ordered to plant trees demonstrated Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. It also resulted in the state of flora in the two archipelagos as surveyed by the scientists.

Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands  105 The Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, located in the East Sea, which China called Nam Hải (South Sea) and the Westerners called South China Sea, have some military strategic importance. No other sea in the world with an area equivalent to ¾ of the Mediterranean Sea has such level of importance in marine traffic like the East Sea. One in every four ships in the world passes through the East Sea. In order to get to the Pacific Ocean from the Indian Ocean, ships must pass through the East Sea. Other routes are more expensive and take more time. The East Sea is at the intersection of international seaways. For example, the important volume of oil and natural gas needed by Japan passes through this intersection. From the centre point of the East Sea looking out to the world: • •

Within the radium of 1,500 nautical miles, we have the following important seaports: Bangkok, Rangoon, Calcutta, Singapore, Jakarta, Manila, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Nagasaki. Within 2,500 nautical miles, we have the following important seaports: Madras, Colombo, Bombay, Bali, Darwin, Guam, Tokyo, Yokohama and Seoul.

This area includes almost all of the most populated countries in the world. It is the same situation with international flights: all flights from Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Manila pass through the East Sea. That is why the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos were not only important for the feudal governments of Vietnam but also currently have a highly important strategic position for Vietnam and the international community. That is why before its invasion of the South East Asian countries in the Second World War, Japan had to seize the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. It was only after they signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951 that the Japanese acceded to abandon their occupation of these two archipelagos. Vietnam has the deep water port of Vân Phong, located above the military port of Cam Ranh of the Province of Khánh Hòa. While other deep water ports, like Hong Kong, Singapore, have an average depth of 22  m, the Vân Phong' deep water port has a depth of 40–60 m. It is also sheltered from strong winds, does not have alluvial problems and has a large opening to the ocean, thus enabling it to receive ships in both directions. Thanks to scientific and technological developments, many precious natural resources can be extracted from the sea. The more the natural resources from inland are depleted the more the territorial waters become precious. The Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, with limited area above the sea surface, but widely scattered, in reality, cover a very large area When oil and gas exploration took place and the economic prospects in the East Sea became to be appreciated, countries in the area began to show interest. This led them to their disputes of sovereignty with Vietnam over these two archipelagos.

106  Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands Before 1975, many foreign companies have already made geo-physical surveys and exploration drills in the continental shelf of South Vietnam, among which two oil wells with commercial value have been discovered. At the end of the 1970s, many companies such as Agip (Italy), Diminex (Federal Republic of Germany) and Bow Valley (Canada) have explored five oil lots in the continental shelf of South Vietnam. In 1979, these companies ended their activities. In September 1975, the Vietnam’s Directorate-General of Oil and Gas was established to encourage further oil and gas exploration. The Vietnam’s continental shelf has an estimated area of 1.3 million km2, divided into 171 lots with each lot having an estimated area of 8,000 km2. Among these lots, 31 have a depth of less than 50 m, 35 have lots 50–100 m deep, 10 lots are 100–250 m deep, 38 lots are 200–2,000 m deep, and 57 lots are more than 2,000 m deep. Within the Vietnamese continental shelf, there are several tertiary era sedimentary basins with high prospect of oil and gas. Until the last years of the 1980s, in the whole Vietnam’s continental shelf, mainly in the South, geo-physical surveys have been carried out over a line of more than 100,000 km; dozens of exploration drills have been carried out, and three oil and gas wells have been discovered (White Tiger, Dragon and Big Bear). From 1986, the White Tiger well began to be exploited with production as follows: 0.04 million tons (1986); 0.68 million tons (1988); 1.5 million tons (1989); 2.7 million tons (1990) and 3.96 million tons (1991).6 The exploration and exploitation of oil and gas in the Vietnam’s continental shelf with the aforementioned results revealed the great potential of oil and gas in the East Sea area. 6.2.2  Difficulties with the People’s Republic of China 6.2.2.1  Before the reunification of Vietnam Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands began to be violated even before Vietnam was reunified in 1975. On January 11, 1974, the People’s Republic of China declared that the incorporation of the islands of the Spratly archipelago into the Province of Phước Tuy by the Government of the Republic of Vietnam was an invasion of Chinese territory and re-affirmed China’s demands regarding the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. On January  12, 1974, the Government of the Republic of Vietnam rejected China’s demands. On January 15, 1974, the People’s Republic of China began to deploy a large naval task force including several warships camouflaged as fishing boats and escorted by airplanes to the Paracel archipelago area. The Headquarters of the Republic of Vietnam’s Navy also dispatched the cruiser Lý Thường Kiệt (HQ-16) to the Paracel archipelago to patrol the area. After having detected the presence of the People’s Republic of China’s armed forces in the Paracel archipelago area and witnessed their flag planting on Money Island and Robert Island, the Republic of Vietnam decided to reinforce its naval force there with the destroyer Trần Khánh Dư (HQ-4), the cruiser Trần Bình Trọng (HQ-5) and the corvette Nhật Tảo (HQ-10).

Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands  107 The reinforcements of the Republic of Vietnam also included the Navy’s special force teams, which were ordered to land on the islands and remove the Chinese flags planted there. Confrontations occurred and shots were fired on Duncan Island and on another island. After that, the Government of the Republic of Vietnam issued an announcement rejecting arguments by the People’s Republic of China, and presented legal, administrative, geographical and historical evidences that clearly demonstrated Vietnam’s sovereignty over these two archipelagos. Both sides began to deploy their forces for combat with their warships being just 200 m away from each other. After that, things began to happen quickly, and the naval battle began at 10:25 AM on January 19, 1974. One warship of the People’s Republic of China was on fire after being hit by the corvette Nhật Tảo. The two warships no. 281 and 282 of the People’s Republic of China coordinated their retaliation and caused serious damages in the bridge and in the main engine room of the corvette Nhật Tảo; Commander Ngụy Văn Thà of Nhật Tảo was killed in action. After one hour of battle, two warships of the People’s Republic of China sank and two more were on fire. The Republic of Vietnam lost the Nhật Tảo that was sunk; a number of other ships were damaged, and a number of soldiers were captured or missing in action. One American named Gerald Kosh, a civilian worker of the US Defense Attaché Office in Saigon, seconded to the Naval Headquarters of the Republic of Vietnam’s I Corps, was also captured (Source: Chính Luận newspaper, issue no. 2982, January 31, 1974). G. Kosh was released at 12:00 AM on January 31, 1974. On January 17, 1974, the Beijing government released 43 soldiers and officials of the Republic of Vietnam in New Territories (Hong Kong). Previously, on January 18, 1974, the Taiwanese Ambassador in Saigon sent a diplomatic note re-affirming demands by the Nationalist Republic of China. On January 20, 1974, the Republic of Vietnam’s Observer at the United Nations requested the UN Security Council to consider China’s use of force to illegally occupy Paracel Islands. Meanwhile, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam announced its position as follows: The issue of sovereignty and territory integrity is a sacred issue for each nation. In the issue of territory and frontier, neighbouring countries often have conflicts, which were caused by history, sometimes very complicated, and need to be studied. Because of the complexity of the issue concerned, the countries involved need to consider it in the spirit of equality, mutual respect, friendship and good neighbours, and should attempt to find a resolution by negotiation. The Government of the Republic of Vietnam asked the Pentagon (US Department of Defense) to intervene but the United States decided to stay out of this conflict. The US Assistant Secretary of State, Arthur W. Hummel, answered the Government of the Republic of Vietnam that the US was not interested in the Paracel Islands issue.

108  Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands In a diplomatic message sent to all signatories of the Paris Accords (1973), the Government of the Republic of Vietnam reminded them of their guarantee for Vietnam’s territory integrity. The Government also asked for a special meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss this issue. On February 1, 1974, the Government of the Republic of Vietnam decided to reinforce the defense of the Spratly archipelago by sending a garrison to the five islands of the archipelago. Through its Ambassador in Manila, the Government of the Republic of Vietnam affirmed its sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. On February 1, 1974, the Republic of Vietnam Delegation at the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea in Caracas re-affirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over the archipelagos, and accused Beijing of illegal occupation of Paracel Islands. On March 30, 1974, representatives of the Government of the Republic of Vietnam affirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos at the Far East Economic and Financial Council convened in Colombia. On February 14, 1975, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Republic of Vietnam issued a White Book on the Paracel and Spratly islands. 6.2.2.2  After the reunification of Vietnam After the victory in Ban Mê Thuột, the strategic opportunity to liberate South Vietnam has come. The Politburo of the Vietnamese Communist Party decided to liberate all South Vietnam in the dry season of 1975, including the offshore islands which include the Spratly archipelago, Poulo Condor, and Phú Quốc. On April 5, 1975, the (Democratic Republic of Vietnam’s) Navy Headquarters undertook the preparation for the liberation of the Spratly archipelago from the former Saigon government. The forces participating to the liberation included the ships of the military transportation group 125, the sapper group 126, battalion 471, sappers of the Military Zone no. 5, battalion 407 and the sappers of the Province of Khánh Hòa. The Navy Headquarters decided to liberate Southwest Cay first, followed by Namyit Island, Sand Cay, Sin Cowe Island, Amboyna Cay, Spratly Island and the remaining island of the Spratly archipelago. On December 30, 1978, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam rejected the arguments mentioned in the declaration of December 29, 1978 by the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the Spratly archipelago, affirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos and repeated Vietnam’s position of resolving all conflicts by peaceful negotiations. On August 7, 1979, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam issue a declaration regarding the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, rejecting China’s declaration in the public announcement of a number of Vietnam documents related to these islands, re-affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos, and repeated Vietnam’s desire to resolve all conflicts between the two countries regarding the two archipelagos by peaceful negotiations.

Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands  109 On September 28, 1979, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam released a number of documents related to Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. On January 30, 1980, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released official documents on Tây Sa and Nam Sa. On February 5, 1980, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a declaration listing the distortion of facts in the official document disclosed by the Chinese on January 30, 1980. In June  1980, at the Second Asian Meteorological Conference convened in Geneva, the Vietnamese representative declared that the meteorological station built by the Chinese in the Paracel archipelago area was illegal. The result was that the Vietnamese station in Paracel Islands was kept in the list of stations just like in the past. On June 13, 1980, Vietnam asked OMM to register the Spratly Islands meteorological station in the OMM network. In January 1981, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the White Book entitled: “Paracel and Spratly archipelagos: territory of Vietnam.” In December 1981, Vietnam’s Directorate-General of Postal and Telecommunication Services sent a telegram to the International Frequency Registration Board in Geneva to object the Chinese broadcast, using a number of frequencies in the air space of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos areas. In October  1982, at the Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union, the Vietnamese representative rejected the change of frequency that had been distributed in 1978 in Geneva. On November  12, 1982, the Government of Vietnam publicly disclosed the baseline data used in the calculation of the width of its territorial waters. On December 4, 1982, the Government of Vietnam established the District of Hoàng Sa in the Province of Quảng Nam – Đà Nẳng. On December 9, 1982, the Government of Vietnam established the District of Trường Sa. And, on December 28, 1982, the Government of Vietnam decided to incorporate the District of Trường Sa into the Province of Phú Khánh. In January 1983, the Administrative Conference of World Wireless Communications agreed to consider Vietnam’s proposal of its broadcast in the air space of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. Also in January 1983, at the Asia-Pacific Air Transport Conference held in Singapore, China wanted to expand its Guangzhou FIR (Flight Information Region) into Hanoi FIR and Ho Chi Minh City FIR, but the Conference decided to maintain the status quo. From April 4 to April 16, 1985, the delegation of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the delegation of Representatives of the Province of Phú Khánh made a visit to the District of Trường Sa. The Deputy Minister of the Vietnamese Ministry of Fisheries Võ Văn Trác made a survey of the fishing industry in the District of Trường Sa. On April  25, 1984, the Chinese Committee for Place-Names announced the new names for the islands, beaches and rocks in the East Sea, including a number

110  Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands of islands in the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos of Vietnam. On May 6, 1984, the spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs objected that action by China. At the 13th Conference of the International Organization of Astral Communications (INTU SAT) held in Bangkok (Thailand), the Vietnamese representative objected to China’s use of maps with Hoàng Sa, Trường Sa (that China called Tây Sa and Nam Sa) as belonging to China. Vietnam also objected the June 1, 1984 event in which the Chinese National Assembly declared the establishment of administrative zone Hainan encompassing the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. At the beginning of 1985, General Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese Minister of Defense made a visit of the Spratly archipelago. In May 1987, Vice-Admiral Giáp Văn Cương, Head of the Vietnamese Navy, made a visit of the Spratly archipelago. From May 16 to June 6, 1987, the Chinese Navy performed war games in the Spratly archipelago area. In October 1987, the Chinese Navy engaged in war games in the western part of Pacific Ocean and in the southern part of the East Sea. On November 10, 1987, the Chinese Navy landed in Louisa Island. In 1988, China used military force to occupy a number of reefs belonging to Vietnam’s Spratly archipelago. In January 1988, a large naval task force including several destroyers equipped with missiles, departed from Hainan Island, going to the South. Four of the warships were sent to the Spratly archipelago area, and they provoked and obstructed the activities of two Vietnamese transport ships in the area of the Fiery Cross Reef and the Cuarteron Reef, the two submerged coral reefs. The Chinese troops planted flags on these two reefs. At the same time, their warships continued to obstruct and provoke the Vietnamese transport ships, which were doing regular supplying activities among the islands managed and protected by Vietnamese troops. For that wave of provocative actions, China established a special command, using forces of their South Sea fleet, reinforced by some units of their East Sea Fleet. They had a permanent force of more than 20 warships of all kinds in the Spratly archipelago area. On March 14, 1988, China arrogantly used force to seize a number of islands, rocks and coral reefs belonging to Vietnam’s Spratly archipelago. The Vietnamese Navy’s transport ship no. 64 with troops aboard was sunk at location. The transport ship no. 505 and the transport ship no. 605 were badly damaged, leaving the location in fires and with big black smoke columns. The transport ship no. 505 was sunk on its retreat route, while the transport ship 605 ran aground. The unequal battle between the Vietnamese transport ships and the Chinese warships lasted only 28 minutes with the result for the Vietnamese side of one ship being sunk at location, two ships badly damaged, and with human casualties of 20 persons dead or wounded and 74 missing in action.

Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands  111 Regarding this event, China said: “China was forced to fight back in selfdefence.” These terms meant that Vietnamese Navy (with three transport ships) was the attacker while Chinese Navy was the self-defender. But the truth was this: China used a naval task force of six warships, including three escort ships no. 502, 509 and 531 equipped with missiles and cannons of 100 mm, which, for no reasons, attacked and sunk three Vietnamese transport ships, which were carrying out their supplying tasks at Lansdowne Reef, Colin Reef, Johnson South Reef belonging to the island group Sin Cowe of Vietnam. After these “confrontations,” China continued to obstruct the supplying activities of Vietnamese ships. Til April  6, 1988, China had illegally occupied Fiery Cross Reef, Cuarteron Reef, Gaven Reef, Hughes Reef, Johnson South Reef, and Subi Reef. On January  3, 1989, China erected sovereignty steles on the reefs they had seized in 1988: Fiery Cross Reef, Cuarteron Reef, Gaven Reef, Hughes Reef, Johnson South Reef and Subi Reef. In 1988, the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam notified the United Nations, and also sent several protesting diplomatic notes to Beijing – in particular the diplomatic notes of March 16, 17 and 23, 1988 – proposing negotiation by both sides to resolve the conflict. China continued to occupy the reefs and refused to negotiate. On April  14, 1988, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam objected the Chinese National Assembly’s merging the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos of Vietnam into the Province of Hainan (Resolution of April 13, 1988 establishing the Province of Hainan). In April 1988, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam published the White Book entitled The Paracel and Spratly archipelagos and international laws. On August  14, 1988, the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam decided to establish the Economic-Scientific-Services Zone for the area covering Vanguard Bank, Alexandra Bank, Grainger Bank, Prince of Wales Bank, Prince Consort Bank belonging to Vietnam’s continental shelf located at 7° to 8°3’ latitude North and 109° to112°20’ longitude East. On October 3, 1989, the spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the contents of the Chinese Announcement of April 28, 1989 in which the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Vietnam of illegally violating a number of islands and islets at Vạn An and Vạn Nhã belonging to the “Nam Sa archipelago.” In May  1989, China illegally seized another number of small islands. On March 3, 1990, China ended the scientific survey in the Spratly archipelago of Vietnam (which had begun three years before). On March 18, 1990, many fishing boats from Guangzhou came to fish in the Spratly archipelago area of Vietnam. On April 16, 1990, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a Memorandum to the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi to protest against the fact that China had sent many military, surveying and fishing boats to the Vietnam’s territorial waters at the Spratly archipelago.

112  Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands On April 28, 1990, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a diplomatic note to the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi to protest China’s invasion of Eldad Reef of the Spratly archipelago of Vietnam. On February 1, 1991, China began to construct several lighthouses on the reefs recently seized in the Spratly archipelago of Vietnam. On May 25, 1991, China published the results of an eight-year scientific survey in the Spratly archipelago of Vietnam since 1984. On July 4, 1991, an unofficial conference on resolving the conflicts in the East Sea was held in Kuala Lumpur. China sent a delegation. However, the Chinese spokesperson declared that the Chinese participation did not mean that China had changed its position and said: “China’s position is to resolve the conflict by peaceful means. China is ready to discuss with other countries about the ways and means of co-exploitation.” 6.2.3 Association of South East Asian Nations’ COC (Code of Conduct) and DOC (Declaration on Code of Conduct) The East Sea is not only strategically important but also in terms of economic potentials, as well as international marine traffic and this has attracted the attention of many countries. Any issue that could destabilize the situation in the East Sea and lead to war would cause a regional or world crisis and no power should be allowed to unilaterally settle the issue. Because of the geo-political factor, the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries play a very important role in the creation of sustainable stability and peace in the East Sea and the Pacific Ocean. From 1996, the ASEAN countries have made every effort to search for a peaceful, stable, and cooperative solution in the East Sea. The leaders of the ASEAN countries have seen the necessity for the creation of a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea in order to maintain the stability in the region and encourage the understanding among the countries in the region. At the end of 1999, the ASEAN countries have agreed upon a general draft of COC to be used in the negotiations with China. From the beginning of 2000, ASEAN and China began to conduct the negotiations on the draft COC. However, in the negotiation process, because of a number of disagreements, the ASEAN countries and China only passed the Declaration on Conduct (DOC) of the Parties in the South China Sea on November 4, 2002 in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) at the occasion of the 8th Summit Conference of the ASEAN. This was considered as a political document between ASEAN and China, establishing a basis for the maintenance of peace and stability in the East Sea. According to the DOC, the parties guarantee that they will comply with the objectives and principles of the United Nations Charter, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South East Asia (TAC). The parties re-affirmed their respect and guarantee toward the freedom of marine and air traffics in the East Sea. While waiting for the peaceful resolution of the disputes over territory and rights, the parties undertook to

Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands  113 increase their efforts to search for ways to build up the trust of one another in the spirit of cooperation and understanding, including the following: the dialog and exchange of viewpoints between the officials responsible for military and national defense matters; the guaranteed equal and humanitarian treatment of everyone facing dangerous or calamitous situation; the agreement to keep other related parties informed of any upcoming allied or joint military exercises and the exchange of relevant information. While waiting for a comprehensive and permanent settlement of the conflicts, the parties undertook to engage in cooperative activities. These activities may include the following: protection of the marine environment, oceanographic studies, marine safety and communication activities, search and rescue activities, combatting trans-border criminals, drug smuggling, pirated and armed robberies at sea and illegal gun trade. The procedure, scale and location, especially the bilateral and multilateral cooperation, need to be agreed upon by the parties before being implemented. Together with the signing of the DOC, the parties undertook to seriously implement the DOC, hoping to move to the COC. At the high-level ASEAN–China conferences since 2002, the parties affirmed their determination to fully implement the DOC, heading toward the final passage of the COC. In general, DOC was the result of the joint efforts by the ASEAN countries and China. This was the first common document between ASEAN and China directly related to the issue of the East Sea. This declaration was not a tool to resolve the conflict in the East Sea, in particular the conflict of sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. But, clearly, strict compliance with the commitments in the DOC will help to avoid confrontations in the East Sea, which had occurred in the past, and to maintain the stability for the region for the mutual benefits of the whole region. The signing of this document was an important step in the dialog between China and ASEAN. Immediately after the DOC was signed, the tension in the East Sea appeared to decrease. However, this situation did not last long. Therefore, the ASEAN countries had to think of something going farther than the DOC. One of the reasons was that the DOC did not distinguish the area of conflict and the area of non-conflict. When something happens, one country may say that it is not in the area of conflict and will not comply with the adjustment required by the DOC. In the meantime, other countries may think that it should be subjected to the requirement imposed by the DOC. The explanation can easily lead to a unilateral decision being taken by the parties for their convenience or to achieve their objectives. In addition to this weakness, the DOC was not legally binding. It is hoped that it will be made more legally binding. The COC had been aimed to be a legally binding document. One of the defects of the DOC was that it was introduced in 2002 and it took nine years for the parties to agree upon the principles for its implementation. The new feature of the COC was its highly legal nature: there were mechanisms to guarantee the implementation of the COC, and there were also measures to punish the parties that violate the COC.

114  Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands The COC was completed by the ASEAN countries in 2012 and is now waiting for China’s signing. Up to today, China still does not want to have multilateral negotiation on the conflict in the East Sea. It only wants to conduct bilateral negotiation separately with each country on the conflict of sovereignty, and still is not interested in signing the COC with ASEAN countries. In the process of the creation of the COC, Vietnam has played an important role. It was able to achieve the consensus of the ASEAN countries on the principles, and the basic elements of the COC. 6.2.4 United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea and Vietnam’s Law of the Sea In 1982, the United Nations ratified and promulgated the Convention on the Law of the Sea,7 which determined the legal status of the sea area under the sovereignty and the sovereign rights of the country adjacent to the sea. According to this Convention, the country adjacent to the sea has the rights on the following sea areas: inner sea, territorial waters, economic exclusive zones (EEZ) and continental shelf. On June 21, 2012, the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam passed The Law of the Sea of Vietnam (See Appendix 3), which respects and complies with international laws, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

6.3  Conclusion The evidence of the establishment, affirmation and continuous exercising of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos from the past to the present is a historical truth. This truth has been recorded in the Vietnamese nation’s chronicles for almost 500 years; it has also been recorded in documents, books and maps of many countries in the world for several hundred years, including even documents by the Chinese and their government. The historical truth eloquently affirms that from the time the Nguyễn Lords in the XVII century sent the Hoàng Sa militia, which also supervised the Bắc Hải team, to take possession of and exercise sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos up to today, the Vietnamese government, through different periods of time, has continuously affirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over these two archipelagos. This historical truth also eloquently demonstrates that the Vietnamese governments have always exercised peaceful and affective administration of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, and have never abandoned Vietnam’s sovereignty over these two archipelagos, historically or legally. This historical truth is objective, indisputable and has the force of the reason. Moreover, it is supported by abundant legal, scientific and technical data. There are plenty of Red-Marked Royally Reviewed Records (Châu Bản) with legally binding instructions by Nguyễn Dynasty Emperors Gia Long, Minh Mạng, Thiệu Trị and Tự Ðức reigning during the first three quarters of the XIX century

Sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands  115 regarding activities to affirm and consolidate Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos. There are findings of numerous scientific and technical surveys of the two archipelagos demonstrating that the fauna and flora on the islands are the same as the ones in Vietnam’s coastal areas. Vietnam has shown and will continue to show its willingness and readiness to peacefully resolve any dispute of sovereignty over the two archipelagos with its neighbours in the spirit of international laws and complying with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.8,9

Notes 1  The San Francisco Peace Treaty, signed by 48 nations, on 8 September 1951, come into force on 28 April 1952, Chapter II, Article 2, Section f. Accessible online at this URL: www.taiwandocuments.org/sanfrancisco01.htm. 2  The Statement by Prime Minister Trần Văn Hữu was written in French as follows: “Et comme il faut franchement profiter de toutes occasions pour étouffer les germes de discorde, nous affirmons nos droits sur les îles Spratley et Paracels qui de tout temps ont fait partie du Vietnam,” which can be translated into English as: “And as one should take advantage of all occasions to eliminate the seeds of discord, we affirm our rights over Spratly and Paracel Islands, which have always been part of Vietnam.” 3  “At the San Francisco Conference on the peace treaty with Japan, the Soviet Union proposed that the Paracels and Spratlys be recognised as belonging to China. This proposal was rejected by an overwhelming majority of the delegate,” excerpt from Spratly Islands dispute, accessible online at this URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Spratly_Islands_dispute 4  Lê Thông, ed., Việt Nam: các tỉnh và thành phố. Hanoi: Giáo dục Việt Nam Publishing House, 2010, p. 80. 5  Spratly: Richard Spratly is the name of the captain of the whaler Cyrus. This British captain discovered this island at 9 am of March 29, 1843. It was Colonel Doyle of Australia and Colonel Campbell of the British Royal Marine Hydrological Measurement Agency who wrote the letter to the Agency on April 1, 1843 requesting the Agency to name the island in the honour of Captain Spratly. (See The Nautical Magazine, 1843, p. 697; excerpted and printed in the Maritime Briefing, vol. 1, no. 6, 1995 (University of Dunhan, England). The French employ the spelling Spratley, with the plural form written with an “s” for the whole archipelago. 6  Tập San Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29 (1975). 7  Tập San Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29 (1975). 8  Nguyên Hiệp, “Thăm dò và khai thác dầu khí ở Việt Nam (Exploration and exploitation of oil and gas in Vietnam,” Khoa học và tổ quốc (Science and the Fatherland), 1992, no. 93, p. 5. 9  Hòa Ngọc (From biengioilanhtho.gov.vn and other sources): www.toquoc.gov.vn/Sites/ vi-vn/details/7/ho-so-quoc-te/108374/cong-uoc-luat-bien-va-chu-quyen-quyen-taiphan-cua-viet-nam-voi-cac-vung-bien-hai-dao.aspx

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1. Vietnamese documents 1.1 “Châu bản,” and texts of the Vietnamese feudal government 1786, Chỉ thị của quan Thái phó Tổng lí quân binh dân chư vụ Thượng tướng công (Tây Sơn), Thái Đức năm thứ 9, ngày 14 tháng 2 năm 1786 (Instructions by Thái phó, Supreme Commander for Military and Civilian Affairs (Tây Sơn), of the 14th Day of the 2nd Month of the 9th Year of Thái Đức 1786); document preserved at the ancestral home of the Võ family, Ward of An Vĩnh, Ré Island (now West Hamlet, Village of Lý Vĩnh, District of Lý Sơn, Province of Quảng Ngãi); orginal text in Chinese characters and translation (document researched by Nguyễn Quang Ngọc and Vũ Văn Quân). 1938, “Dụ số 10 ngày 29 tháng 2 năm Bảo Đại thứ 13, 30 tháng 3 năm 1938 (Decree-Law no. 10 of the 29th Day of the 2nd Month of the 13th Year of Bảo Đại, March 30, 1938) 1938,” Nam Triều Quốc ngữ công báo (Official journal in Quốc ngữ of Annam), no. 8. 1999, “Dụ ngày 13 tháng 7 năm Minh Mạng thứ 18 (1837), Châu bản tập Minh Mạng số 57 (Decree-Law of the 13th Day of the 7th Month of the 18th Year of Minh Mạng (1837), Collection of ‘châu bản’ of Minh Mạng, no. 57) 1999,” Tạp chí Xưa và Nay (Old and Modern Times magazine), no. 63B. Original text and translation by Nguyễn Chí Viễn in Appendix 2. 1999, “Dụ ngày 18 tháng 7 năm Minh Mạng thứ 16 (1835), Châu bản tập Minh Mạng số 54 (Decree-Law of the 18th Day of the 7th Month of the 16th Year of Minh Mạng (1835), Collection of ‘châu bản’ of Minh Mạng, no. 54),” Tạp chí Xưa và Nay (Old and Modern Times magazine), no. 63B. 1999, “Phúc tấu của bộ Công ngày 20 tháng 1 năm Thiệu Trị thứ 7 (1847), Châu bản tập Thiệu Trị số 41 (Re-submitted report of the Ministry of Public Works of the 20th Day of the 1st Month of the 7th Year of Thiệu Trị (1847), Collection of ‘châu bản’ of Thiệu Trị, no. 41,” Tạp chí Xưa và Nay (Old and Modern Times magazine), no. 63B. 1999, “Phúc tấu của Bộ Công ngày 28 tháng 12 năm Thiệu Trị thứ 7 (1847), Châu bản tập Thiệu Trị số 51 (Re-submitted report of the Ministry of Public Works of the 28th Day of the 12th Month of the 7th Year of Thiệu Trị (1847), Collection of ‘châu bản’ of Thiệu Trị, no. 51,” Tạp chí Xưa và Nay (Old and Modern Times magazine), no. 63B. Original text and translation by Nguyễn Chí Viễn in Appendix 2. 1999, “Phúc tấu ngày 12 tháng 2 năm Minh Mạng thứ 17 (1836), Châu bản tập Minh Mạng số 55, (Re-submitted report of the 12th Day of the 2nd Month of the 17th Year of Minh Mạng (1836), Collection of ‘châu bản’ of Minh Mạng, no. 55),” Tạp chí Xưa và Nay (Old and Modern Times magazine), no. 63B.

Bibliography  117 1999, “Tấu của bộ Công ngày 2 tháng 4 nhuận năm Minh Mạng thứ 19 (1938), Châu bản tập Minh Mạng số 68 (Submitted report of the Ministry of Public Works of the 2nd Day of the Second (Leap) 4th Month of the 19th Year of Minh Mạng (1938), Collection of ‘châu bản’ of Minh Mạng, no. 68,” Tạp chí Xưa và Nay (Old and Modern Times magazine), no. 63B. Original text and translation by Nguyễn Chí Viễn in Appendix 2. 1999, “Tấu của bộ Hộ ngày 11 tháng 7 năm Minh Mạng thứ 17 (1836), Châu bản tập Minh Mạng số 57 (Submitted report of the Ministry of Finance of the 11th Day of the 7th Month of the 17th Year of Minh Mạng (1836), Collection of ‘châu bản’ of Minh Mạng, no. 57,” Tạp chí Xưa và Nay (Old and Modern Times magazine), no. 63B. 1999, “Tấu của tỉnh Quảng Ngãi ngày 19 tháng 7 năm Minh Mạng thứ 19 (1838), Châu bản tập Minh Mạng số 64 (Submitted report by the Province of Quảng Ngãi of the 19th Day of the 7th Month of the 19th Year of Minh Mạng (1838), Collection of ‘châu bản’ of Minh Mạng, no. 64),” Tạp chí Xưa và Nay (Old and Modern Times magazine), no. 63B.

1.2 Documents of the Government of the Republic of Vietnam 1951, “Bản tuyên bố tại Hội Nghị San Francisco, ngày 6 và 7 tháng 9 năm 1952, của Thủ Tướng Trần Văn Hữu (Declarations at the San Francisco Conference on September 6 and 7, 1951 by Prime Minister Trần Văn Hữu),” France-Asie, no. 66–67. 1956, “Sắc lệnh số 143 – NV ngày 22–10–1956, thay đổi địa giới và tên đô thành Sài Gòn – Chợ Lớn của Tổng Thống Ngô Đình Diệm (Decree-Law no. 143 – NV of October 22, 1956, signed by President Ngô Đình Diệm, changing the area borders and name of the capital city Saigon – Cholon),” Quy pháp vựng tập (Compilation of laws and regulations), vol. 7. 1961, “Sắc lệnh số 174 – NV ngày 13 tháng 7 năm 1961 do Ngô Đình Diệm kí, đặt quần đảo Hoàng Sa thuộc tỉnh Quảng Nam và thành lập tại đảo này một xã làng danh hiệu là xã Định Hải thuộc quận Hòa Vang (Decree-Law no. 174 – NV of July 13, 1961, signed by Ngô Đình Diệm, incorporating Paracel archipelago into the Province of Quảng Nam, and establishing a new village named Village of Định Hải, belonging to the District of Hòa Vang),” Quy pháp vựng tập (Compilation of laws and regulations). 1969, “Nghị định số 709  – BNV/HCĐP/26 ngày 21 tháng 10 năm 1969 do Trần Thiện Khiêm kí sáp nhập xã Định Hải thuộc quận Hòa Vang, tỉnh Quảng Ngãi vào xã Hòa Vang cùng quận (Decree no. 709 – BNV/HCĐP/26 of October 21, 1969, signed by Trần Thiện Khiêm, incorporating the Village of Định Hải, District of Hòa Vang, Province of Quảng Ngãi into the Village of Hòa Vang, of the same District),” Quy pháp vựng tập (Compilation of laws and regulations), Part XII, vol. 2. 1973, “Nghị định số 420 – BNV/HCĐP/26 do Lê Công Chất kí ngày 6 tháng 9 năm 1973, sáp nhập một số đảo vào xã Phước Hải, quận Đất Đỏ, tỉnh Phước Tuy (Decree no. 420 – BNV/HCĐP/26 signed by Lê Công Chất on September 6, 1973, incorporating a number of islands into the Village of Phước Hải, District of Đất Đỏ, Province of Phước Tuy,” Công Báo Việt Nam Công Hòa (Official Journal of the Republic of Vietnam), 19th year, no. 51. 1974, “Chiến thắng Hoàng Sa (The Paracel Islands victory),” Tin Hải Quân (News from the Navy), 5th year, New Series, no. 2. 1974, Hoàng Sa, lãnh thổ Việt Nam Cộng Hòa (Paracel Islands: Territory of the Republic of Vietnam). Ministry of Civic Affairs and Open Arms Program. 1974, Tuyên cáo của Chính quyền Việt Nam Cộng Hòa vể chủ quyền của Việt Nam Cộng Hòa trên những đảo ở ngoài khơi bờ biển Việt Nam Cộng Hòa, ngày 14 tháng 2 năm 1974 (Declaration of February 14, 1974 by the Government of the Republic of Vietnam

118  Bibliography on the Republic of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the islands off the coast of the Republic of Vietnam), Saigon. Ditto machine-printed document. 1974, Tuyên cáo số 015/BNG/TTBC/TT của Bộ Ngoại Giao Việt Nam Cộng Hòa về những hành động gây hấn của Trung Cộng trong khu vực quần đảo Hoàng Sa ngày 19 tháng 1 năm 1974 (Declaration no. 015/BNG/TTBC/TT by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Vietnam on aggressive actions of Communist China in the Paracel Islands area on January 19, 1974).

1.3 Documents of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vietnam (Socialist Republic of). Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1979, Chủ quyền của Việt Nam đối với hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa (Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos), Directorate of Information and News Media, Hanoi. ——— 1984, Quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa, lãnh thổ Việt Nam (Paracel and Spratly archipelagos: territory of Vietnam), Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi. ——— 1998, Các quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa và luật pháp quốc tế (Paracel and Spratly archipelagos and international laws), Hanoi. ______. National Borders Committee 1998, Khái quát về Luật biển quốc tế và việc áp dụng Luật Biển tại Việt Nam (Overview of the International Law of the Sea and the application of the Law of the Sea in Vietnam), Training document on upgrading competence in sea management, Center of Information and Documents, Hanoi. ——— 1998, Một số vấn đề về tổ chức bộ máy quản lý nhà nước vể biển (A number of issues in organizing the mechanism of government sea management), Centre of Information and Documents, Hanoi. ———, Section of the Sea 1998, Hồ sơ tên đảo Hoàng Sa – Trường Sa (File on names of the islands of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos). Ditto machine-printed document. Vietnam News Agency 1995, “Trung Quốc và an ninh khu vực (China and the regional security),” Tài liệu tham khảo (Reference documents), no. 6. ——— 1995, “Trường Sa: tranh chấp về quần đảo (Conflict on the Spratly archipelago),” Tài liệu tham khảo (Reference documents), no. 10–11.

1.4 Other documents Arner, R. 1997, “Các tranh chấp lãnh thổ giữa Trung Quốc và Việt Nam và sự ổn định khu vực (Territorial conflicts between China and Vietnam and the regional stability),” Đông Nam Á hiện đại (Modern South East Asia Periodical), vol. 19, no. 1. Brice, M.C. 1996, Những yêu sách đối kháng của Việt Nam và Trung Quốc ở khu vực Bãi ngầm Tứ Chính và Thanh Long trong Biển Đông (Conflicting demands of Vietnam and China in the area of the Vanguard Bank and Thanh Long in the East Sea), National Politics Publishing House, Hanoi. (Translation). Ca Văn Thỉnh and Bảo Định Giang, translators, 1984, “Việt sử cương giám khảo lược (Vạn Lý Trường Sa) (Summary research account of the history of Viet (Ten Thousand Mile Long Sandbanks)),” in Nguyễn Thông: con người và tác phẩm (Nguyễn Thông: the person and his works), Ho Chi Minh City Publishing House. Cao Xuân Thự và Nguyễn Hoàn 1998, “Bản đồ địa lí – một trang sử về chủ quyền (Geographical maps: a history page on sovereignty),” Tạp chí Khoa học – Khoa học Xã hội (Science – Social Sciences Periodical), vol. XIV, no. 3.

Bibliography  119 ——— 1998, “Trung Quốc đã vẽ bản đồ của họ hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa và đặt tên cho chúng như thế nào? (How did China draw maps and give names to the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos),” Tạp chí Khoa học – Khoa học Xã hội (Science – Social Sciences Periodical), vol. XIV, no. 3. China (People’s Republic of). Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1980, Chủ quyền của Trung Quốc đối với quần đảo Tây Sa và quần đảo Nam Sa là không thể tranh cải được (China’s sovereignty over the Tây Sa archipelago and the Nam Sa archipelago is indisputable), trans. Vietnam’s National Borders Committee. Đặng Vũ 1996, “Vài nét về văn hóa dân gian Lý Sơn (Sketchy description of the popular culture of Lý Sơn),” Tạp chí Cẩm Thành (Cẩm Thành magazine), no. 9. Đinh Văn Cư 1972, Chủ quyền trên quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa (Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos). Graduation dissertation, Institute of National Administration, Saigon. Đinh Xuân Lâm 1998, “Hoàng Sa  – Trường Sa trong tâm thức Việt Nam (The Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands in the Vietnamese consciousness),” Tạp chí Lịch sử Quân sự (Military History Periodical), no. 6–30. Đoàn Ngọc Khôi 1996, “Nguồn gốc văn minh cổ xưa trên đảo Lý Sơn (Origin of the ancient civilization on Lý Sơn Island),” Tạp chí Cẩm Thành (Cẩm Thành magazine), no. 9. Đỗ Bá Công Đạo 17th century, “Toàn tập Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư, quyển 1, Hồng Đức bản đồ (Complete collection of Southern Sky Four-Direction Road Map Atlas, vol. 1, Hồng Đức maps),” trans. Bửu Cầm, Bibliographical Collection of the Institute of Archaeology, Saigon, 1962. Đức Lập 1998, “Trung Quốc xâm chiếm quần đảo Hoàng Sa của Việt Nam năm 1974 (Chinese invasion of the Paracel Archipelago of Vietnam in 1974),” Tạp chí Lịch sử Quân sự (Military History Periodical), no. 6–30. Governor-General of Indochina 1932, Nghị định số 156-SC do Toàn Quyền Đông Dương kí ngày 15 tháng 6 năm 1932 thiết lập tổ chức hành chính tại quần đảo HoàngSa (Decree no. 156-SC signed by the Governor-General of Indochina on June 15, 1932 establishing the administrative organization for the Paracel archipelago). Hà Liễu 1776, Đơn xin chính quyền Tây Sơn cho phép đội Hoàng Sa ở Quảng Ngãi tiếp tục hoạt động (Application submitted to the Tây Sơn government asking for permission for the Hoàng Sa team to continue its activities), document preserved at the ancestral home of the Võ family, Ward of An Vĩnh, Ré Island (now West Hamlet, Village of Lý Vĩnh, District of Lý Sơn, Province of Quảng Ngãi); original text in Chinese characters; document researched and translated by Nguyễn Quang Ngọc and Vũ Văn Quân. Hải Đông 1988, “Địa danh hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa (Place-names of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos),” Tạp chí Lịch sử Quân sự (Military History Periodical), Hanoi, no. 6–30. Hàn Chấn Hoa, Lâm Kim Chi, and Ngô Phượng Bân 1985, Trung Quốc Nam Hải chư đảo sử liệu hội biên, trans. Vietnam’s National Borders Committee, The East Publishing House, Beijing. Hãn Nguyên (Nguyễn Nhã) 1975, “Những sử liệu chữ Hán minh chứng chủ quyền của Việt Nam trên quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa qua nhiều thế kỉ (Historical documents in Chinese characters demonstrating Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos over many centuries),” Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29.

120  Bibliography Hoàng Đạo 1938, “Người và việc: quần đảo Paracels bỗng nhiên hóa ra quan trọng (People and actions: the Paracel archipelago suddenly becomes important),” Ngày Nay (Today journal). Hoàng Xuân Hãn 1975, “Quần đảo Hoàng Sa (The Paracel archipelago),” Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. Hồng Tập and Nguyễn Đăng Dung 1988, “Vấn đề xác lập chủ quyền lãnh thổ trong luật pháp quốc tế (The issue of establishment of territorial sovereignty in international laws),” Tạp chí Khoa học – Khoa học Xã hội (Science – Social Sciences Periodical), vol. XIV, no. 3. Huy Bách 1974, “Cuộc tranh chấp về chủ quyền trên hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa của Việt Nam Cộng Hòa (The conflict of sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos of the Republic of Vietnam),” Quốc phòng nguyệt san (National Defense Monthly Journal), no. 46. Joyner, C.C. 1999, Tranh chấp của đảo Trường Sa: suy nghĩ lại về tác động qua lại giữa hoạt động ngoại giao và chính trị trong biển Nam Trung Hoa (Conflict over the Spratly archipelago: rethinking of the interactions between diplomatic and political activities in the South China Sea), Center for Information and Documents, Hanoi. Lam Giang 1975, “Hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa, Trường Sa giữa Đông Hải (The Paracel and Spratly archipelagos in the middle of the East Sea),” Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), Saigon, no. 29. Lãng Hồ 1975, “Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa lãnh thổ Việt Nam (Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands: Territories of Vietnam),” Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. Lê Hồng Khánh 1996, “Lý Sơn một vùng văn hóa đầy tiềm năng và triển vọng (Lý Sơn: a cultural area with great potential and prospects),” Tạp chí Cẩm Thành (Cẩm Thành magazine), no. 9. Lê Minh 1998, “Giới thiệu bản phán quyết của Tòa án Quốc tế của Liên hợp quốc về vụ tranh chấp các nhóm đảo Minquiers và Écrehous giữa Pháp và Anh (Introduction on the decision by the International Tribunal of the United Nations regarding the confict over the Minquiers and Écrehous Islands between France and Great Britain),” Tạp chí Lịch sử Quân sự (Military History Periodical), no. 6–30. Lê Quý Đôn 1776, Phủ biên tạp lục, quyển 2 (vol. 2), tập I (book I), trans. Lê Xuân Giáo, Bibliogrtaphical Collection of Old Literary Works, Translation Committee, Saigon, 1972. Lê Sơn 1998, “Ba hội nghị quốc tế xử lí vấn đề các lãnh thổ bị Nhật chiếm đóng trong Chiến tranh thế giới thứ hai không công nhận quần đảo Hoàng Sa, quần đảo Trường Sa của Trung Quốc (Three international conferences for the resolution of the issues of the territories seized by the Japanese during World War II do not recognize China’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos),” Tạp chí Lịch sử Quân sự (Military History Periodicak), no. 6–30. Liên Hợp Quốc 1999, Công ước của Liên hợp quốc về luật biển (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), National Politics Publishing House, Hanoi. Lưu Văn Lợi 1995, Cuộc tranh chấp Việt Trung về hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa (The Vietnamese-Chinese conflict over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos), People’s Security Agency Publishing House, Hanoi. Mẫn Khánh Dương Kỵ and Trần Xuân Cầu 1981, Từ Bãi Cát Vàng đến Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa: lãnh thổ Việt Nam (From the Yellow Sandbanks to the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands: territories of Vietnam), Secondary and Technical School Publishing House, Hanoi.

Bibliography  121 Minh Nghĩa 1998, “Pháp luật quốc tế đối với vấn đề thiết lập chủ quyền lãnh thổ trên các lãnh thổ vô chủ (International laws on the issue of establishing sovereignty over the res nullius territories),” Tạp chí Lịch sử Quân sự (Military History Periodical), no. 6–30. Minh Trân 1988, “Một số tư liệu cổ của Trung Quốc xác nhận quần đảo Hoàng Sa, Trường Sa không thuộc lãnh thổ Trung Quốc (A number of old Chinese documents affirming that the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos were not parts of China’s territory),” Tạp chí Lịch sử Quân sự (Military History Periodical), no. 6–30. Ngọc An 1988, “Một quyết định lịch sử tháng 4 năm 1975: giải phóng quần đảo chiến lược Trường Sa (A historic decision in April 1975: liberation of the strategic Spratly archipelago),” Tạp chí Lịch sử quân sự (Military History Periodical), no. 6–30. Nguyễn Bá Trác, ed. 1933, “Quảng Ngãi tỉnh chí (Gazetteer of the Province of Quảng Ngãi),” Nam Phong tạp chí (Nam Phong Periodical); translation preserved at the General Museum of the Province of Quảng Ngãi. Nguyễn Đăng Dung 1999, “Thủ đắc lãnh thổ và luật pháp quốc tế (Acquisition of territory and international laws),” Tuyển tập các báo cáo toàn văn Hội nghị Khoa học về Lịch sử, Địa lí, Pháp lí, Chủ quyền của nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam trên hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa – Trường Sa (Selected papers of the Conference on Historical, Geographical and Legal Aspects of the Sovereignty of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam over the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos). (Topic BĐ-HD-01). Ministry of Science, Industry and Environment, and National University of Hanoi, Hanoi. Nguyễn Hạp 1999, Sơ đồ thuyền buồm truyền thống tại Cù Lao Ré đươc sử dụng đi Biển Đông trong đó có Hoàng Sa (Sketches of traditional sail boats used in seafaring in the East Sea including Paracel Islands) (drawn based on private documents still preserved by the people of the East Hamlet, Village of An Hải, Island-District of Lý Sơn, formerly Ward of An Vĩnh, Ré Island). Nguyễn Huy 1975, “Hoàng Sa dưới mắt nhà địa chất H. La Fontaine (Paracel Islands as observed by geologist H. La Fontaine),” Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. Nguyễn Hữu Lành 1974, “Luật quốc tế và vấn đề đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa (International laws and the issue of the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands),” Quốc phòng nguyệt san (National Defense Monthly Journal), no. 46. Nguyễn Nhã 1975, “Hoàng Sa qua vài tài liệu văn khố của Hội truyền giáo Ba Lê (Paracel Islands through a few archival documents of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris),” Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. ——— 1975, “Thử đặt vấn đề Hoàng Sa (Let’s consider the issue of the Paracel archipelago),” Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. Nguyễn Q. Thắng 1988, Hoàng Sa Trường Sa (Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands), Youth Publishing House, Ho Chi Minh City. Nguyễn Quang Ngọc 1995, Báo cáo kết quả thực hiện hợp đồng Nghiên cứu khoa học giai đoạn hai đề tài nhánh “Lịch sử chủ quyền của Việt Nam ở hai đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa” (Report of the results in fulfilling the scientific research contract of phase 2 of the sub-topic “History of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos), (Topic BĐ-HĐ-01-01), National University of Hanoi, Hanoi. ——— 1996, “Quá trình mở rộng ranh giới trên biển trong các thế hệ bản đồ của Trung Quốc (The process of expanding the territorial borders on the sea across the various generations of maps of China),” in Báo cáo Hội thảo Quốc gia : Luận cứ khoa học lịch sử, địa lí, pháp lí chủ quyền Việt Nam trên hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa (Proceedings of the National Conference on Historical, Geographical and Legal Arguments for Vietnam’s Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos), National University of Hanoi, Hanoi.

122  Bibliography ——— 1999, “Bào vệ chủ quyền trên Biển Đông: một hoat động nổi bật của vương triều Tây Sơn (Protection of sovereignty over the East Sea: an outstanding activity of the Tây Sơn royal court),” Tạp chí Lịch sử Quân sự (Military History Periodical), no. 1. Nguyễn Quang Ngọc and Vũ Văn Quân 1996, “Thêm vài tư liệu về quê hương và hoạt động của đội Hoàng Sa xưa (A few additional documents regarding the origin and activities of the old Hoàng Sa team),” in Báo cáo Hội thảo Quốc gia: Luận cứ khoa học lịch sử, địa lí, pháp lí chủ quyền Việt Nam trên hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa (Proceedings of the National Conference on Historical, Geographical and Legal Arguments for Vietnam’s Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos), National University of Hanoi, Hanoi. ——— 1998, “Tư liệu về nguồn gốc, chức năng và hoạt động của đội Hoàng Sa (Documents on the origin, functions, and activities of the Hoàng Sa team),” Tạp chí Khoa học – Khoa học Xã hội (Science – Social Sciences Periodical), vol. XIV, no. 3. Nguyễn Quốc Huyên 1999, “Thử bàn về những đặc điểm của cuộc tranh chấp hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa (Let’s discuss the characteristics of the conflict over the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos),” Tuyển tập các báo cáo toàn văn hội nghị khoa học về Lịch sử, Địa lí, Pháp lí, Chủ quyền của nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam trên hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa  – Trường Sa (Selected papers of the Conference on Historical, Geographical and Legal Aspects of the Sovereignty of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam over the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos). (Topic BĐ-HĐ-01) Ministry of Science, Industry and Environment, and National University of Hanoi, Hanoi. Nguyễn Thanh Tùng 1996, “Di sản văn hóa Lý Sơn: sự định hướng bảo tồn và phát huy các giá trị (Cultural heritage of Lý Sơn: orientation in preservation and enhancing its values),” Tạp chí Cẩm Thành (Cẩm Thành magazine), no. 9. Nguyễn Thành Song 1974, “Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa đều là Việt Nam (The Paracel and Spratly archipelagos are all Vietnamese territories),” Thời nay giai phẩm (Special Issue of Modern Times). Nguyễn Thừa Hỷ 1998, “Quần đảo Paracels và các nhà hàng hải Bồ Đào Nha trong thế kỉ XVI (The Paracel Archipelago and the Portuguese navigators in the XVI Century),” Tạp chí Khoa học – Khoa học Xả hội (Science – Social Sciences Periodical), vol. XIV, no. 3. ——— 1999, “Quần đảo Hoàng Sa trong thế kỉ XVII – XVIII nhìn từ phương Tây (The Paracel Archipelago viewed by Westerners in the XVII – XVIII centuries),” Tuyển tập các báo cáo toàn văn hội nghị khoa học về Lịch sử, Địa lí, Pháp lí, Chủ quyền của nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam trên hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa – Trường Sa (Selected papers of the Conference on Historical, Geographical and Legal Aspects of the Sovereignty of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam over the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos). (Topic BĐ-HĐ-01) Ministry of Science, Industry and Environment, and National University of Hanoi. Nguyễn Văn Dân 1999, “Địa danh và chủ quyền Việt Nam trên hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa (Place-names and Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos),” Tuyển tập các báo cáo toàn văn hội nghị khoa học về Lịch sử, Địa lí, Pháp lí, Chủ quyền của nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam trên hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa  – Trường Sa (Selected papers of the Conference on Historical, Geographical and Legal Aspects of the Sovereignty of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam over the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos). (Topic BĐ-HD-01) Ministry of Science, Industry and Environment, and National University of Hanoi, Hanoi. Nguyễn Yên Mô 1996, “Đồn đột ở Cù Lao Ré (Sea cucumbers on Ré Island),” Tạp chí Cẩm Thành (Cẩm Thành magazine), no. 9.

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Bibliography  125 ——— 1908, Quốc triều chính biên toát yếu, quyển 3 (Vol. 3), trans. Lê Xuân Gíao, Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29, 1975. ——— 1910, Đại Nam nhất thống chí, quyễn 6 (vol. 6): Quảng Ngãi Tỉnh (Province of Quảng Ngãi), trans. Phan Trọng Điểm, Science Publishing House, Hanoi, 1970. Quốc Tuấn 1975, “Nhận xét về các luận cứ của Trung Hoa liên quan tới vấn đề chủ quyền hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa” (Remarks on the Chinese arguments relating to the sovereigny issue over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos), Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. Scobbie, I. 1974, Tranh chấp về quần đảo Trường Sa: một quan điểm khác (Conflict over the Spratly archipelago: a different viewpoint), trans. Vietnam’s National Borders Committee, Center for Information and Documents, Hanoi. Sơn Hồng Đức 1975, “Thử khảo sát về quần đảo Hoàng Sa” (Let’s make a survey of the Paracel archipelago), Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. Tân Phong 1961, “Vấn đề chủ quyền trên nhóm quần đảo Tây Sa và Trường Sa” (The issue of sovereignty over the group of archipelagos of Tây Sa and Trường Sa), Quê Hương (Motherland Journal), Third Series, no. 27. Thái Văn Kiểm 1975, “Những sử liệu Tây phương minh chứng chủ quyền của Việt Nam về quần đảo Hoàng Sa – Trường Sa từ thời Pháp thuộc đến nay” (Western historical documents demonstrating Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos from the French colonial administration to the present), Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. Thích Đại Sán 1696, Hải ngoại ký sự, trans. Nguyễn Phương and Hải Tiên Nguyên Duy Bột, Committee for Translation of Historical Documents, Huế University, Huế. Thiện Sinh 1963, “Quần đảo Tây Sa (Paracels) của Việt Nam hay của Trung Hoa” (The Tây Sa (Paracel) archipelago: territory of Vietnam or China), Tạp chí Phổ thông (Popular magazine), no. 63. Trần Bá Chí 1998, “Đỗ Bá Công Đạo với bản đồ Bãi Cát Vàng (Hoàng Sa)” (Đỗ Bá Công Đạo with the map of the Bãi Cát Vàng (Hoàng Sa), Tạp chí Khoa học – Khoa học xã hội (Science and Social Sciences Periodical), vol. XIV, no. 3. ——— 1999, “Một số sách địa lí cổ Trung Quốc đến thế kỉ XX bị ngụy tạo vị trí địa danh nhằm giành chủ quyền quần đảo Hoàng Sa của Việt Nam” (A number of old Chinese geography books to the XX century giving fabricated positions and names of placenames in order to claim sovereignty over Vietnam’s Paracel Islands), Tuyển tập các báo cáo toàn văn hội nghị khoa học về Lịch sử, Địa lí, Pháp lí, Chủ quyền của nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam trên hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa  – Trường Sa (Selected papers of the Conference on Historical, Geographical and Legal Aspects of the Sovereignty of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam over the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos). (Topic BĐ-HĐ-01) Ministry of Science, Industry and Environment, and National University of Hanoi, Hanoi. Trần Công Trục 1998, “Chủ quyền của Việt Nam trên hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Tường Sa” (Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos), Tạp chí Khoa học – Khoa học Xã hội (Science – Social Sciences Periodical), vol. XIV, no. 3. ——— 1998, “Quần đảo Hoàng Sa và quần đảo Trường Sa, bộ phận lãnh thổ thiêng liêng của Việt Nam qua các bằng cứ lịch sử pháp lí” (The Paracel and Spratly archipelagos: sacred parts of Vietnam’s territory through historical and legal evidences), Tạp chí Lịch sử Quân sự (Military History Periodical), no. 6–30. Trần Đăng Đại 1975, “Các văn kiện chính thức xác nhận chủ quyền Việt Nam trên hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa từ thời Pháp thuộc đến nay” (Official documents affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos from the French

126  Bibliography colonial administration to the present), Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. Trần Hữu Châu 1975, “Phúc trình về công tác nghiên cứu phốt-phát lần cuối cùng tại quân đảo Hoáng Sa của phái đoàn chuyên viên hỗn hợp Nhật – Việt vào mùa thu năm 1973” (Report of the last phosphate research study in Paracel Islands of the JapaneseVietnamese joint delegation in the Fall of 1973), Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. Trần Thế Đức 1975, “Hoàng Sa: những nhân chứng” (Paracel Islands: the witnesses), Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical),” no. 29. Trần Thế Đức et al. 1975, “Thư mục chú giải về Hoàng Sa” (Annotated Bibliography on Paracel Islands), Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. Từ Minh 1974, “Cuộc tranh chấp chủ quyền trên các quần đảo Hoàng Sa” (Conflict of seovereignty over the Paracel archipelago), Tạp chí Bách Khoa (Polytechnique Periodical), Saigon. Unknown author 1932, “Nhân vấn đề đảo Tây Sa nhớ đến nước cổ của ta: đính chính lại mấy chỗ sai lầm trong các bộ Sử” (The Issue of Tây Sa island reminds us of our old country: rectification of some mistakes in the chronicles), Đông Thanh, no. 1. ——— 1932, “Nước Pháp muốn đòi đảo Tây Sa cho dân Việt Nam ta: những chứng cớ và lời biện bạch” (France wants to claim sovereignty over Tây Sa island for our Vietnamese people: proofs and arguments), Nam Phong, no. 172. ——— 1932, “Việc trong nước, việc giao thiệp thu hồi quần đảo Tây Sa” (Internal affairs, external affairs in reclaiming Tây Sa archipelago), Đông Thanh, no. 1. ——— 1975, “Hoàng Việt địa dư chí, quyển 1 (vol. 1),” trans. Lê Xuân Giáo, Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. ——— 1981, Quần đảo Hoàng Sa và quần đảo Trường Sa: bộ phận lãnh thổ Việt Nam (Paracel and Spratly archipelagos: part of Vietnam’s territory), Sự Thật Publishing House, Hanoi. Văn Trọng 1979, Hoàng Sa, quần đảo Việt Nam (Paracel Islands: a Vietnamese archipelago), Science Publishing House, Hanoi. Võ Long Tê 1975, “Phương diện địa danh học của hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa” (On the origin of the names of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos), Tập san Sử Địa (History and Geography Periodical), no. 29. Võ Văn Hồng 1996, “Lý Sơn: truyền thống và cách mạng” (Lý Sơn: tradition and revolution),” Tạp chí Cẩm Thành (Cẩm Thành magazine), no. 9. Võ Văn Quân 1999, “Nhìn lại thành tựu nghiên cứu lịch sử chủ quyền Việt Nam ở Hoàng Sa, Trường Sa” (A look back at the achievements in historical research on Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos), in Tuyển tập các báo cáo toàn văn hội nghị khoa học về Lịch sử, Địa lí, Pháp lí, Chủ quyền của nước Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam trên hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa – Trường Sa (Selected papers of the Conference on Historical, Geographical and Legal Aspects of the Sovereignty of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam over the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos). (Topic BĐ-HĐ-01) Ministry of Science, Industry and Environment, and National University of Hanoi, Hanoi. Vũ Hải Âu 1988, “Tình hình tranh chấp hiện nay ở quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa” (The current situation of the conflict of sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos), Tạp chí Lịch sử quân sự (Military History Periodical), no. 6–30. Vũ Hữu San 1994, Địa lí Biển Đông với Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa (Geograpy of the East Sea with the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos), Committee for the Protection of Vietnam’s Territorial Integrity, Stanford University, Stanford.

Bibliography  127 Vũ Phi Hoàng 1988, “Vài nét về hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa và Trường Sa” (Sketchy account of the Paracel and Spratly Archipelagos),” Tạp chí Lịch sử Quân sự (Military History Periodical), 6–30.

2. Foreign-language documents 2.1 English Gutzlaff 1849, “Geography of the Cochinchinese Empire,” Journal of the Geographical Society of London, vol. 19. Haller-Trost, E. 1990, “The Spratly Islands: a study on the limitation of international law,” Occasional paper / Centre of South-East Asian Study, University of Kent at Canterbury, no. 14. Hancox, D. and Prescott, V. 1995, “A geographical description of the Spratly Islands and account of hydrographical surveys amongst those islands,” Maritime Briefing, vol. 1, no. 6. Taberd, J.L. 1837, “Note on the Geography of Cochinchina,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. VI. ——— 1838, “Additional notice on the Geography of Cochinchina,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. VII. U.S. Army Headquarters 1960, Broadcasting a visual activity Pacific, OPO 331. Analysis [of] the Spratley, Paracel Island dispute; document preserved at the Government Publications Room, Library, University of California Library, Los Angeles. Valencia, M.J. 1991, “Malaysia and law of the sea,” in The Foreign policy issues, the options and their implications, Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia. Vietnam (Republic of). Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1975, White paper on the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) and Trường Sa (Spratly) Island. Saigon. Vietnam (Socialist Republic of). Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1983, The Hoàng Sa (Paracel) and Trường Sa (Spratly) archipelagos: Vietnamese territories, Hanoi.

2.2 French B.B. 1939, “Les îles Spratley (The Spratly Islands),” Asie franҫaise (French Asia), vol. XXXIX, no. 369, Apr. 1939. Chevey, P. 1934, “Îles et récifs de coraux de la Mer de Chine” (Islands and coral reefs of the Sea of China), Bulletin de la Société des Études Indochinoises (Bulletin of the Society of Indochinese Studies), vol. IX, no. 4. Claeys, J.Y. 1941, “Journal de voyage aux Paracels” (Travel log to Paracel Islands), Indochine (Indochina), no. 44–46. Clerget, O.M. 1933, “Les phosphates des Paracels” (The phosphates of the Paracel Islands), L’ Éveil économique de l’ Indochine (The economic awakening of Indochina), no. 785. Cucherousset, H. 1929, “Les droits de l’Annam sur les îles Paracels et les devoirs du Gouvernement Protecteur” (The rights of Annam over Paracel Islands and the duties of the Protectorate Government, L’ Éveil économique de l’ Indochine (The economic awakening of Indochina), no. 627. ——— 1929, “La question des îles Paracels” (The issue of Paracel Islands), L’ Éveil économique de l’ Indochine (The economic awakening of Indochina), no. 606, 622–623.

128  Bibliography ——— 1931, “Les îles Paracels et la sécurité de l’Indochine” (Paracel Islands and the security of Indochina), L’ Éveil économique de l ’Indochine (The economic awakening of Indochina), no. 685. ——— 1931, “L’Indochine aux Paracels” (Indochina with Paracel Islands), L’ Éveil économique de l’ Indochine (The economic awakening of Indochina), no. 688. ——— 1932, “Histoire moderne des îles Paracels” (Modern history of Paracel Islands), L’ Éveil économique de l’ Indochine (The economic awakening of Indochina), no. 744, 746. ——— 1933, “À la conquête des îles phosphates à Spratley” (For the exploitation of the phospates of Spratly Islands), L’ Éveil économique de l’ Indochine (The economic awakening of Indochina), no. 790. ——— 1933, “La question des Paracels” (The issue of Paracel Islands), L’ Éveil économique de l’ Indochine (The economic awakening of Indochina), no. 777. Dumoutier, M.G. 1896, “Étude sur un portulan Annamite du XVè siècle” (Study of a portolan [nautical] chart of Annam of XV century), Bulletin de géographie historique et descriptive (Bulletin of historical and descriptive geography), no. 2. Fontaine, H. and Lê Văn Hội 1957, “Contribution à la connaissance de la flore des îles Paracels” (Contribution to the knowledge of the flora of Paracel Islands), Annales de la Faculté des Sciences (Annals of the Faculty of Sciences), Université de Saigon (Saigon University). France. Ministère des Affaires Étrangères 1933, “Avis relative à l’ occupation de certaines îles par les unités navales franҫaises” (Notice relating to the occupation of certain islands by French naval units), Journal officiel de la République franҫaise (Official Journal of the French Republic), July 25. Gendreau, M.C. 1996, La sauveraineté sur les archipels Paracels et Spratley (Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos), Harmattan Edition, Paris. Gouverneur de la Cochinchine (Governor of Cochinchina) 1933, Arrêté le 21 décembre 1933 de J. Krautheimer (Decree of December 21, 1933 by J. Krautheimer), Kho lưu trử trung ương 2 (National Archive Center 2), Ho Chi Minh City. Gouverneur-Général de l’ Indochine (Governor-General of Indochina) 1939, “Arrêté no. 3283 le 5 mai 1939 de J. Brévíe” (Decree no. 3283 of May 5, 1939 by J. Brévíe), Bulletin administrative de l’honneur (Administrative Bulletin of Honour), Saigon. Jourdan, F.S. 1933, “Les Paracels infiniment petits de notre domaine colonial” (Paracels Islands: infinitely small of our colonial domain), La Nature (Nature), 61st year, 2nd semester, no. 2916. Lê Thành Khê 1971, “L’ Affaire des îles Paracels et Spratleys devant le droit international” (The issue of Paracel and Spratly Islands before international law), Thèse 3è cycle (Third Cycle Doctoral Dissertation), Institut International d’Études et de Recherches Diplomatiques (International Institute of Diplomatic Studies and Research), Paris, no. 3940. Krempf, A. 1927, “La forme des récifs coralliens et le régime des vents alternants: rapport du Conseil du gouvernement sur le fonctionnement du Service océanographique des pêches de l’ Indochine pendant l’année 1926–1927” (The form of coral reefs and the system of alternating winds: report of the Government Council on the Function of the Oceanographical Service of Fisheries of Indochina during the fiscal year 1926–1927), Mémoire du Service Océanographique de l’ Indochine (Memoirs of the Oceanographical Service of Indochina), no. 2. Lacombe, A.S.E. 1932, “L’ Histoire moderne des îles Paracels” (Modern history of Paracel Islands), L’ Éveil économique de l’ Indochine (The economic awakening of Indochina), no. 738.

Bibliography  129 Lacour, J. de and Jabouillé 1930, “Oiseaux des îles Paracels,” (Birds of Paracel Islands) Mémoire du Service Océanographique de l’ Indochine (Memoirs of the Oceanographical Service of Indochina), no. 3. Lafont, P.B. 1989, “Les archipels Paracels et Spratleys: un conflit de frontière en Mer de Chine Méridionale” (The Paracel and Spratly archipelagos: a conflict of frontier in the South China Sea), in Les frontières du Vietnam (The Frontier of Vietnam), Édition l’ Harmattan, Paris. Lapicque, P.A. 1929, “À propos des îles Paracels, Extrême-Asie” (About the Paracel Islands, Extreme Asia), Revue indochinoise illustrée (Illustrated Indochinese Magazine), no. 38. Lưu Văn Lợi 1996, Les différends vietnamo-chinois sur les archipels Hoàng Sa et Trường Sa (The Vietnamese-Chinese disputes over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos), Éditions Thế Giới (World Editions), Hanoi. Nguyễn Hồng Thao 1996, Le Vietnam face aux problems de l’ extension maritime dans la Mer de Chine Méridionale, Tập 1, 2 (Vietnam facing with the problems of maritime extension in the South China Sea, Vol. 1, 2), Thèse pour le Doctorat en Droit, Université de Paris I (Law Doctoral Dissertation, University of Paris I), Panthéon, Sorbonne. Pasquier, P. 1932, “L’histoire moderne des îles Paracels” (Modern history of Paracel Islands), L’Éveil économique de l’ Indochine (The economic awakening of Indochina), no. 741. Saix, O.A. 1933, “Îles Paracels” (Paracel Islands), La Géographie (Geography), vol. LX, Dec. 11. Salé, G. 1931, “Les îles Paracels / Les îles Paracels et la sécurité en Extrême-Orient” (Paracel Islands / Paracel Islands and the security in the Far-East),” L’Éveil économique de l’ Indochine (The economic awakening of Indochina), no. 705, Sept. 27, 1931. ——— 1931, “Les îles Paracels et la sécurité en Extrême-Orient” (Paracel Islands and the security in the Far-East), Avenir du Tonkin (Future of Tonkin), no. 10495. Salles, A. 1923, “Le mémoire sur la Cochinchine de Jean Baptiste Chaigneau” (Memoirs of Cochinchina by Jean Baptiste Chaigneau), Bulletin des Amis du Vieux Huế (Bulletin of Friends of Old Hue), vol. X, no. 2. Saurin, E. 1955, “Notes sur les îles Paracels” (Notes on Paracel Islands), Archives géologiques du Vietnam (Geological archives of Vietnam), Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques et Techniques (National Center of Technical and Scientific Research), Saigon. ——— 1957, “A propos des galets exotiques des îles Paracels” (About the exotic pebbles of Paracel Islands), Archives géologiques du Vietnam (Geological archives of Vietnam), no. 4. ——— 1958, “Faune malacogique terrestre des îles Paracels” (Terrestrial malacological fauna of Paracel Islands), Contribution (Contribution), Institut océanographique de Nha Trang (Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography), no. 39. ——— 1960, “Gastéropodes marins des îles Paracels” (Marine gastropods of Paracel Islands), Annales de la Faculté des Sciences (Annals of the Faculty of Sciences), Université de Saigon (Saigon University). ——— 1962, “Lamellibranches des îles Paracels” (Lamellibranches of Paracel Islands), Annales de la Faculté des Sciences (Annals of the Faculty of Sciences), Université de Saigon (Saigon University). Serene, R. 1951, Petit histoire des Paracels, Sud-Est Asiatique (Short history of Paracel Islans, South-East Asia), no. 19.

130  Bibliography ——— 1955, “L’ Institut océanographique de Nha Trang et la zoologie marine au Vietnam” (Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography and the marine zoology in Vietnam), Contribution (Contribution), no. 15. Vỏ Long Tê 1974, Les archipels de Hoàng Sa et de Trường Sa selon les anciens ouvrages vietnamiens d’ histoire et de géographie (The Paracel and Spratly archipelagos according to the Vietnamese ancient works of history and geography), Bộ Văn Hóa Giáo Dục và Thanh Niên (Ministry of Culture, Education and Youth), Saigon.

List of Old Vietnamese and Chinese documents List of Old Vietnamese and Chinese documentsList of Old Vietnamese and Chinese documents

A. Vietnamese documents A1. Books Dư địa chí (Part of Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí, see below) / by Phan Huy Chú (1782– 1840). 1820. Đại Nam nhất thống chí / by Quốc Sử Quán Triều Nguyễn. 1849–1910. Đại Nam thực lục chính biên / by Quốc Sử Quán Triều Nguyễn. 1821–1909. Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên / by Quốc Sử Quán Triều Nguyễn. 1821–1844. Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư / by Ngô Sĩ Liên (XV century). 1479. Đại Việt sử kí tục biên (superseded Đại Việt sư ký toàn thư) / by Nguyễn Hoàn (1713– 1792), Lê Quý Đôn (1726–1784) and Vũ Miên (1718–1782). 1775. Địa dư Minh Mạng. 1833. Đông hành thi thuyết thảo / by Lý Văn Phức (1785–1849). 1832. Hoàng triều đại điển / by Trương Hán Siêu (?–1354) and Nguyễn Trung Ngạn (1289–1370). Under Trần Dynasty. 1341 (?) Hoàng Việt địa dư chí / by Phan Huy Chú (1782–1840). 1833. Hưng Hóa kí lược. / by Phạm Thận Duật (1825–1885). 1856. Khâm định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ / by Nội Các Triều Nguyễn. 1851. Khâm định Việt sử thông giám cương mục / by Quốc Sử Quán Triều Nguyễn. 1856–1884. Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí / by Phan Huy Chú (1782–1840). 1821. Phủ biên tạp lục / by Lê Quý Đôn (1726–1784). 1776. Quốc triều chính biên toát yếu / by Quốc Sử Quán Triêu Nguyễn. 1908–1924. Quốc triều chính điển lục / by Bùi Huy Bích (1744–1818). End of XVIII century. Quốc triều hội điển / by Phạm Đình Hổ (1768–1839). 1735–1740. Sử học bị khảo / by Đặng Xuân Bản (1828–1910). End of XIX century. Việt sử cương giám khảo lược / by Nguyễn Thông (1827–1884). 1877. Văn tịch chí / by Lê Quý Đôn (1726–1784). 1776. Vọng kiến Vạn Lí Tràng Sa / by Lý Văn Phức (1785–1849). 1832.

A2. Maps An Nam đại quốc họa đồ. 1838. An Nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư. Đại Nam nhất thống chí toàn đồ. 1838.

132  List of Old Vietnamese and Chinese documents Đại Nam nhất thống dư đồ. Under Nguyễn Dynasty. Hồng Đức bản đồ. Under Lê Dynasty. Thiên hạ bản đồ / by Đỗ Bá Công Đạo. 1686. Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư / by Đỗ Bá Công Đạo. End of the XVII century. Thuận Hóa Quảng Nam địa đồ nhật trình. Toàn tập An Nam lộ đồ. Toàn tập Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư / by Đỗ Bá Công Đạo. 1686.

B. Chinese documents B1. Books Chư phiên chí. 1225. Đại Minh nhất thống chí. 1461. Giao Châu dị vật chí. Hải ngoại ký sự / by Thích Đại Sán (1633–1704). 1696. Nam Châu dị vật chí. Nhất thống chí. Phù Nam truyện. Trung Quốc địa lí giáo khoa thư. 1906.

B2. Maps Chư phiên đồ. Dư dịa đồ. 1561. Đại Thanh đế quốc. 1905. Đại Thanh đế quốc toàn đồ. 1905. Đại Thanh đế quốc vị trí khu hoạch đồ. 1909. Đại Thanh trực tỉnh toàn đồ. Hoàng Minh chức phương địa đồ. 1635. Hoàng Minh đại thống nhất tổng đồ. 1835. Hoàng triều nhất thống dư địa tổng đồ. 1894. Hoàng triều phủ sảnh châu huyện toàn đồ. 1862. Hoàng triều trực tỉnh địa dư toàn đồ. 1904. Kim cổ dư đồ / by Nguyễn Quốc Phu. 1638. Lộ phủ châu huyện đồ. 1638. Nội phủ địa đồ. Quảng dư đồ / by La Hồng Tiên. 1561. Quảng Đông dư địa toàn đồ. Quảng Đông tỉnh đồ. 1897. Thiên hạ nhất thống chi đồ. Trung Quốc cương giới biến thiên đồ. 1939.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1Appendix 1

Chronology

XVII century Beginning of XVII Century. Establishment of the Hoàng Sa team 1686. Đỗ Bá Công Đạo prepared Toàn tập Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư or Toàn tập An Nam lộ, recorded that every year the Nguyễn Lords sent 18 boats to Bãi Cát Vàng to collect items, mostly gold/silver, coins, firearms and ammunition. 1695. Chinese monk Thích Đại Sán, residing monk of Trường Thọ Temple of Guangzhou, invited by the Nguyễn Lord, made a visit to Đại Việt. 1696. Chinese monk Thích Đại Sán prepared Hải ngoại ký sự; the Nguyễn Lord in Đại Việt sent boats to Vạn Lý Trường Sa to collect sea products.

XVIII century 1701. In the letter dated December 17, 1701, from Guangzhou, missionary Tartre of the “Missions Étrangères de Paris,” on the ship Amphitrite to China, described Paracel as a dangerous place, with numerous shipwrecks. In the collection of letters printed in 1843, there was a note: “Paracel is an archipelago that belongs to the Great Annam (Đại Việt).” 1702. Hoàng Sa team collected 30 ingots of silver in Paracel Islands (Phủ biên tạp lục, Volume 2). 1704. Hoàng Sa team collected 1,500 pounds of tin (Phủ biên tạp lục, Volume 2). 1705. Hoàng Sa team collected 126 ingots of silver (Phủ biên tạp lục, Volume 2). 1709–1713.  Every year, Hoàng Sa team collected sea products, eretmochelys imbricata, tin, and canons (Phủ biên tạp lục, Volume 2). October  1714.  Three Dutch merchant ships were wrecked in Paracel Islands; the crews were helped by local people; the survivors arrived in Nam Hà and were provided by the Nguyễn Lord with foods and arranged for their return to their country. 1731. Maps of the Province of Guangdong and of the District of Qiongzhou (Hainan Island) in the Guangdong Tong Zhi (Geography of Guangdong), prepared by He Yulin, Governor of Guangdong in 1731, did not include Tây Sa (Chinese name for Paracel Islands) and Nam Sa (Chinese name for Spratly Islands).

134  Appendix 1 1739. Minh Chi (History of the Ming Dynasty, Volumes 40 and 45): section on China’s territory did not mention the Tây Sa and Nam Sa archipelagos. 1754. One fishing boat of the Hoàng Sa team was caught in a storm and arrived in the port of Thanh Lan (Hainan Island). After careful investigation, the Chinese authorities sent them back to Thuận Hóa, and Lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát sent a letter thanking them. 1758–1768.  French Admiral, Charles Hector Théodat, wrote in his “Mémoire pour une entreprise sur la Cochinchine proposé à De Mangon” that he saw up to 400 canons collected from shipwrecks in Paracel Islands. 1775. Hà Liễu, team leader of Ré Island Ward, Village of An Vĩnh, submitted to the Tây Sơn government, a request for the re-establishment of the Hoàng Sa team. Đại Việt sử kí tục biên (1676–1789) prepared on order by Lord Trịnh Sâm, with Nguyễn Hoàn, Lê Quý Đôn, Vũ Miên as editors-in-chief, recorded activities of the Hoàng Sa and Bắc Hải teams. 1776. Lê Quý Đôn prepared Phủ biên tạp lục, provided a very detailed description of Paracel Islands (Hoàng Sa) and Spratly Islands (Bắc Hải), of the Hoàng Sa team supervising the Bắc Hải team, and affirmed that these islands were parts of Quảng Nghĩa province. 1786. Instructions by Thái phó, Supreme Commander for Military and Civilian Affairs, of the Tây Sơn government, to the Commander of the Hoàng Sa team, ordering him to lead 2 boats going to Paracel Islands to collect items (gold, silver, bronze and canons) and sea products. 1787–1788.  The survey team Kergariou  – Locmaria determined that the position of Paracel Islands was different from the Spratly Islands, which were located 500 km to the South.

XIX century 1802. Coronation of Emperor Gia Long, establishment of the Nguyễn Dynasty. 1805. Emperor Gia Long issued a Decree-Law, establishing the Land Registers for the whole country from North to South, called Land Registers of Gia Long. The work was completed in 1836 (under Emperor Minh Mạng’s reign). 1815. Company Commander Phạm Quanh Ảnh led the Hoàng Sa team in the mission of taking marine hydrological measurements. 1816. For the first time, both the Royal Navy and the Hoàng Sa team were ordered to go to Paracel Islands for marine hydrological measurements. 1820. Jean Baptiste Chaigneau wrote the report on Nam Hà, stating that Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands) belonged to this country. 1821. Phan Huy Chú prepared Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí, stating that Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands) belonged to the Greater District of Tư Nghĩa (Province of Quảng Nam). 1833. Emperor Minh Mạng ordered the Ministry of Public Works to prepare boats to go to Paracel Islands to plant border markers, to construct shrines and to plant trees.

Appendix 1  135 1834. Emperor Minh Mạng order Nany Commander Trương Phúc Sĩ to go to Paracel Islands to draw maps. 1835. Emperor Minh Mạng ordered Nany Commander Phạm Văn Nguyên to go to Paracel Islands to construct shrines. 1836. Emperor Minh Mạnh ordered Navy Commander Phạm Hữu Nhật to go to Paracel Islands to explore, to draw maps and to plant border markers. From that year on, these activities became routine and were carried out every year. 1838. Emperor Minh Mạng continued to send Royal Nany to explore and draw maps of Paracel Islands. Dictionnarium Latino  – Annamiticum by Jean Louis Taberd was published with attached map of An Nam đại quốc họa đồ that noted that “Cát Vàng seu Paracels” in the Vietnam’s territorial waters. 1847. The report submitted by the Ministry of Public Works to Emperor Thiệu Trị, recommending the postponement until the following year of the mission to Paracel Islands to take marine hydrological measurements. 1848. The map Hoang Qing Yi tong Yu Di Quan Tu in the Ying Huan Zin Lue by Peng Wenzhang (China) did not include Tây Sa and Nam Sa. 1849. In his article “Geography of the Cochin-Chinese Empire,” printed in the Journal of the Geographical Society of London, Gutzlaff affirmed that the King of Annam had sent a fleet and built a small military post in Kát Vàng (Hoàng Sa, Paracel Islands) to protect people and collect taxes from them. 1850. L’Univers, histoire et description de tous les peoples, de leur religions, moeurs, coutumes: Japon, Indochine, Ceylan, etc by Dubois de Jancigny was published, which contained the following statement: “for 34 years, Paracel Islands have belonged to the people of Annam with the name of Cát Vàng (Hoàng Sa); they have been taken into possession by Annam.” 1862. In their book Tableau de la Cochinchine, E. Cortembert and L. de Rosny placed Paracel Islands (Cát Vàng) in the list of the islands belonging to Vietnam. 1884. Vietnam and France signed the Treaty of June 6, 1884, recognizing the protectorate by France; China and France signed the Treaty of May 11, 1884 in Tianjin (or Tientsin) in which China recognized the treaties that France had signed with Huế royal court. 1894. Huang Chao Yi Tong Yu Di Zong Tu (Maps of the Great Qing) printed in Huang chao Yi Tong Yu Di Quan Tu by Feng Dunxiang, Meng Shouvue and Xi Naixian (China) did not include Tây Sa and Nam Sa. The map noted clearly that the southernmost point of China was Hainan Island located at 18°13’ latitude North. 1894–1896.  German ship Bellona and Japanese ship Unofi Maru, transporting bronze, sunk in Paracel Islands, were pillaged by Hainan fishermen. The British insurance company filed a claim with the Government of Guangdong and the Government of Guangdong affirmed that Paracel Islands (Hoàng Sa) did not belong to China.

136  Appendix 1 1899. A  project was submitted to Paul Doumer (Governor-General of Indochina), for the construction of a seaport in Paracel Islands; it was not carried out for lack of budget.

XX century 1905. The map Da qing Di Guo Quan Ta of China, published for the first time in 1905 with the 4th edition in 1910, did not include the Tây Sa and Nam Sa archipelagos. 1906. In the geography book Zhong Guo Di Li Xue Jiao Ke Shu (China), we can find this sentence: “the southernmost point of China is at 18°13’ latitude North.” 1909. On June 6, Admiral Lý Chuẩn, by order from the government of Guangdong, led a group of three warships to Tây Sa, and landed on a number of islands belonging to the Paracels archipelago, before returning to China. 1910. Đại Nam nhất thống chí, prepared for the first time in 1882, was published. Volume 2 contained two paragraphs on Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands, and affirmed that the two archipelagos belonged to the Province of Quảng Ngãi. 1920. The French Customs Services started to increase patrolling in the Paracel Islands area. 1921. On March 30, the Government of Guangdong decided to administratively merge Tây Sa into the District of Yahien (Hainan Island). The local government was not recognized by the central government of China and by other powers. 1925. A scientific researcher team led by A. Krempf, Director of the Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography, surveyed Paracel Islands. They surveyed the Spratly Islands in July 1927. 1925. On March 3, Minister of National Defense Thân Trọng Huề affirmed that Paracel Islands belonged to Vietnam, and there was nothing to discuss. 1927. The survey ship De Lanessan was sent to Paracel Islands to conduct studies of corals and phosphate fertilizers. 1928. The company Société nouvelle des phosphates du Tonkin (Hải Phòng) requested the government of Nam Kỳ (Cochinchina) to grant permission to exploit the bird droppings (phosphate deposits) in Spratly Islands. 1929. In his report dated January 22 to Governor-General of Indochina, the Central Vietnam French Resident Le Fol noted that Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel Islands had existed for a very long time and recalled the declaration by Minister Thân Trọng Huề. The Perrier-Rouville delegation proposed to construct four lighthouses at the four corners of the Paracel archipelago on the islands of Triton, North, Lincoln and Bombay Reef. On March 29, the French Consul-General in Manila reported to the French Ministry of Colonial Affairs that no island of the Paracel archipelago was recorded in the map of the Philippines.

Appendix 1 137 1930–1933.  From April 13, 1930 to April 22, 1933, units of the French Navy were stationed on the main islands of the Spratly archipelago such as Amboyma Cay, Itu Aba Island, Loaita Island, Thitu Island and other dependent islands. 1932. On April 29, French government sent the Chinese delegation in Paris a diplomatic note to remind China of France’s rights over the Paracel archipelago and proposed with China either a friendly resolution or a resolution through an arbitrator. On June 15, the Governor-General of Indochina established administrative delegation for the Paracel archipelago. 1933. On July 26, the Minister of Colonial Affairs publicly announced the taking of possession of the islands of the Spratly archipelago: Spratly Island, Amboyma Cay, Loaita Island, Thitu Island and small dependent islets, sandbanks, reefs. On December  21, the Governor of Nam Kỳ (Cochinchina) J. Krautheimer merged the Spratly archipelago into the Province of Bà Rịa. 1937. On February 18, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent to the Chinese delegation in Paris a diplomatic note proposing with China either a friendly solution or a solution through an international arbitrator for the Paracel archipelago issue. China did not respond. On February 28, the French warship Lamotte-Piquet arrived in Paracel Islands. In October, chief engineer of public works J. Gauthiier was sent to Paracel Islands to study the construction of a military airport on Pattle Island. 1938. On March  30, Emperor Bảo Đại administratively transferred the Paracel archipelago from the Province of Nam Ngãi to the Province of Thừa Thiên. Erection of a sovereignty memorial stele on Pattle Island with the following inscription: République franҫaise – Royaume d’Annam – Archipel des Paracels 1816 – Île de Pattle 1938. Construction of a lighthouse, a meteorological station, a wireless TSF station on Pattle Island (of the Paracel archipelago) and on Itu Aba Island (of the Spratly archipelago). Vietnamese security guards were sent to station in Paracel Islands. 1939. On March 31, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Japan would establish control over Paracel Islands. French government protested Japanese occupation and re-affirmed France’ sovereignty. On May 5, Governor-General of Indochina Jules Brévié divided the Paracel archipelago into 2 administrative units. 1943. From November 23 to November 27, a conference was held in Cairo (Egypt) with the participation of the United Kingdom, the United States and China. The results of the conference: Japan would have to abandon all rights, title and intention over all islands in the Pacific Ocean that Japan had captured from China and other countries of the Pacific Ocean such as Manchuria, Taiwan and the Pinnacle archipelago. There was no mention of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. 1945. On March 9, the Japanese staged a military coup against the French in Indochina.

138  Appendix 1

1946.

1947.

1948. 1949. 1950. 1951.

From July 17 to August 2, the Potsdam Conference (Soviet Union, United States, and United Kingdom) supported the agreements reached at the Cairo Conference and decided to divide Indochina into two zones separated by the 16th parallel. The Republic of China (National Republic of China) would disarm the Japanese forces above the 16th parallel, and Great Britain would do the same thing south of the 16th parallel. On August 19, the August Revolution was successful in Hanoi. On September  2, the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was announced. The Japanese forces withdrew from Indochina. On February  28, France and the Republic of China signed the Chongqing Accords; France replaced China in the disarmament of the Japanese Forces. On March 6, the Preliminary Accords was signed between France and Vietnam in Hanoi, recognizing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam a free country, having its own army, parliament, finance and a member of the Indochinese Federation, belonging to the French Union. From May 20 to May 27, the French Navy ship Savorgnan de Brazza re-occupied the Paracel archipelago. On June 26, 4 warships of the Republic of China made a landing on the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, under the pretext of disarming the Japanese forces, while, in reality, both of these archipelagos were located south of the 16th parallel, i.e. belonging to the zone under the British responsibility. On October 11, the Inter-ministerial Committee of the Provisional Government of France affirmed France’s sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago and decided to provide materials for the construction of a meteorological station on the Pattle Island. On December 19, the Franco-Vietnamese war broke out. On January  17, the French Navy warship Le Tonkinois went to Pattle Island, demanding the Chinese troops to leave the island but the Chinese refused to comply with the demand; the French troops stationed on Pattle Island. On July  4, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed with the Republic of China a compromise by which the conflict would be resolved by international arbitration. The Republic of China refused to do so. After its failure in the mainland, the Republic of China had to withdraw to Taiwan. On June 5, Bollaert and Bảo Đại signed the Ha Long Bay Agreement in which France solemnly recognized the independence of Vietnam. In April, Prince Bửu Lộc, on behalf of ex-Emperor Bảo Đại, declared in Saigon Vietnam’s sovereignty over Paracel archipelago. On October 1, the People’s Republic of China was established. In April, the Republic of China troops withdrew from Woody Island. On October 14, the French colonial government officially transfer the control of the the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos to Bảo Đại Government. On May  17, Philippines President Quirino declared to the news media that the Paracel archipelago belonged to the Philippines for geographical reason but recognized the meteorological stations built by the French in Paracel Islands (station 48859 on Woody Island, station 48860 on

Appendix 1  139

1952.

1954.

1956.

1958.

1959.

Pattle Island) and in Spratly Islands (station 48919 on Itu Aba Island). On May 19, Beijing objected to the declaration by the Philippines. The San Francisco Conference was held to conclude the peace treaty with Japan. Mr Trần Văn Hữu, Prime Minister of Bảo Đại government, declared that the Paracel and Spratly Islands had belonged to Vietnam for a long time; this declaration did not meet any objection from the Conference. 46/51 delegations rejected the proposal to place the Paracel and Spratly Islands under the control of the People’s Republic of China. Article no. 2 mentioned that Japan had to abandon their rights, title and intention over the Paracel and Spratly Islands without saying anything regarding China’s sovereignty over these two archipelagos. On March 25, in the French Union Conference regarding the San Francisco Conference, representatives of Vietnam, Nguyễn Khắc Sửu and Bữu Kính, reminded that the Paracel and Spratly Islands had belonged to Vietnam for a very long time. The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maurice Schumann, also affirmed: “Completely agree that the Paracel and Spratly Islands are parts of the Territory of the French Union.” On April 24, Japan and the Republic of China signed a peace treaty in which Japan re-affirmed its commitment (in accordance with the San Francisco Conference). On July 20, the Geneva Accords were signed; Vietnam was temporarily divided into 2 regions with the 17th parallel as the military demarcation line. The Northern region was under the administration of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam; the Southern part, including the two Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, was under the administration of the government in the South. On April 28, the Republic of Vietnam received from France the control over the Paracel archipelago, except for the eastern part of the archipelago seized by the People’s Republic of China before the arrival of the Vietnamese troops. On June 9, the French envoy in Manila informed the Philippines government that the French government had taken possession of the Spratly archipelago since 1933. On August 22, a unit of the Republic of Vietnam Navy raised the flag, erected the sovereignty memorial stele on Pattle Island (principal island of the Paracel archipelago), re-affirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over this archipelago. On October 20, the Republic of Vietnam merged the Spratly archipelago into the Province of Phước Tuy. On September 4, China announced the 12-nautical-mile-wide limit of territorial waters of the People’s Republic of China. Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Phạm Văn Đồng sent a diplomatic note to the Beijing government, supporting the affirmation of the 12-nauticalmile width of the territorial waters of China. During the night of February 20, “armed Chinese fishermen” landed on Robert Island, Drummond Island, and Duncan Island, but were fought back by the Republic of Vietnam troops stationed there and 83 were arrested.

140  Appendix 1 1960. December 20, the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam was created. 1961. On July 13, The Republic of Vietnam merged the Paracel archipelago into the Province of Quảng Nam, and established there the Village of Định Hải, belonging to the District of Hòa Vang. 1962. On June 29–30, a task force of the Republic of Vietnam Navy explored Northeast Cay, and Southwest Cay of the Spratly archipelago. 1963. From May  19 to May  24, the Republic of Vietnam Navy explored and erected sovereignty memorial stele on Spratly Island, Amboyma Cay, Loaita Island, Northeast Cay, and Southwest Cay of the Spratly archipelago. 1969. On June 6, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam was established. On October 21, the Village of Định Hải (on Paracel Islands) was merged into the Village of Hòa Long, District of Hòa Vang, Province of Quảng Nam. 1971. On April  20, the Republic of Vietnam informed the Malaysian Embassy that the Spratly archipelago belonged to Vietnam’s territory. The Philippines Navy occupied Nanshan Island, Northeast Cay, Loaita Island, Thitu Island and renamed them as Lawak, Parola, Kota and Pagasa. On July 13, the Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Trần Văn Lắm declared in Manila that the Spratly archipelago had belonged to Vietnam for a long time. 1972. On February 28, The President of the United States and the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China signed the Shanghai Joint Communiqué. 1973. On January 27, the Paris Accords of ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam was signed. On March 2, the four parties of the Paris Accords, thẹ five powers, and the countries members of the International Commission of Control and Supervision signed the agreement on the implementation of the Paris Accords. On September 6, the Republic of Vietnam merged the Spratly archipelago into Phước Hải, District of Đất Đỏ, Province of Phước Tuy. 1974. On January 20, China used force to occupy Robert Island, Money Island, and Pattle Island. The Representative of the Republic of Vietnam at the United Nations protested to the Security Council and to the SecretaryGeneral the occupation by China of the Paracel archipelago. The Government of the Republic of China also informed the signatories of the Paris Accords and other countries of the occupation of the Paracel archipelago by the People’s Republic of China. On January 26, the military delegation of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam published the three-point Declaration related to the occupation by the Chinese troops of the western part of the Paracel archipelago, and suggested that the conflict be resolved by peaceful means. 1974. On January 28, The President of the Republic of Vietnam informed the leaders of allied countries of the Chinese invasion of the Paracel archipelago. On March 30, at the Far East Economic Conference in Colombo, and on July 2, at the international conference on sovereignty overseas in

Appendix 1  141

1975.

1976.

1977.

1978.

1979.

Caracas, the Government of the Republic of Vietnam objected the occupation by China of the Paracel archipelago and re-affirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago as well as the Spratly archipelago. On February 14, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Vietnam issued the White Book on the Paracel and Spratly islands. From April 13 to April 28, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam Navy liberated and took control of the islands of the Spratly archipelago. On April 30, the Government of the Republic of Vietnam collapsed, South Vietnam was liberated. On September 9, the representative of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam at the Asian Meteorological Congress in Colombo made a request to keep the registration of the Vietnamese meteorological station built on Pattle Island in the SYNOP system of OMM under registration number of 48860 for reason of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago. On September 24, in the meeting with the delegation of the Party and Government of Vietnam, Chinese leader Deng Xiao Ping recognized there were a number of issues, including the Paracel and Spratly Islands issues, that needed to be resolved between the two countries, “The issues will be resolved in the future.” On November 10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China a diplomatic note, reminding of the statement by Chinese leader Deng Xiao Ping on September 9 and proposed a suspension of all propaganda related to the conflict over the islands, aiming at creating an appropriate atmosphere for the negotiations. In its response of December 24, China rejected this proposal. On December  3, the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in Beijing, in a meeting with the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, re-affirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. On June 5, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Vietnam declared that Vietnam reserved its rights to protect the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos On July 2, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was established from the reunification of the two regions of the country. On May 12, the Government of Vietnam published the Announcement on the sea and the continental shelf of Vietnam. On October 7, in the talks on border disputes, the head of the Vietnamese delegation Phan Hiền proposed to add to the talk agenda the issue of the disputed archipelagos; the Chinese counterpart Hàn Niệm Long rejected the proposal. During the visits of the Philippines (in September) and of Malaysia (in October), Prime Minister Phạm Văn Đồng has agreed with the President and the Prime Minister of the two counties that the parties should resolve the conflicts by peaceful measures. On February 17, China deployed 600,000 troops to invade the six northern provinces of Vietnam. After two weeks of heavy casualties, the Chinese

142  Appendix 1

1980.

1981.

1982.

1983.

1984.

had to withdraw. On March  15, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issue the White Book on the Sino-Vietnamese borders, which also included the issue of the Paracel and Spratly Islands. On April 26, talks began between China and Vietnam at the deputy minister level regarding the normalization of relations between the two countries. On July 3, the Chinese Civil Aviation Agency established four air defense zones over the air space of Tây Sa, and requested that civilian airplanes of foreign countries be announced when travelling through these zones, with the intention of forcing other countries to recognize China’s sovereignty over the Tây Sa and Nam Sa archipelagos. On August 7, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected this intention of distortion of facts. On September  8, the Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs published document supporting Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. On February  5, the spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the fabricated Chinese documents dated January 30 regarding the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. On March 25, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed Vietnam’s sovereignty over Amboyna Cay as well as over the Spratly archipelago in general. On June 13, the Vietnamese delegation at the OMM Meteorological Congress requested that the Vietnamese meteorological station on Spratly Island be registered in the OMM network. In December, Vietnam’s Directorate-General of Postal and Telecommunication Services noted the IFRB (International Frequency Registration Board) that Vietnam could not accept China’s broadcast, using the international frequency reserved for the zone 6G covering the air space of the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. In January, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the White Book The Paracel archipelago and the Spratly archipelago: territory of Vietnam. In October, at the Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union in Nairobi, the Vietnamese delegation rejected the designation of the broadcast frequency of 1978 for the East Sea to China. On November 12, Vietnam publicly disclosed the baseline used in the calculation of the standard width of its territorial waters. On December 9, island-district of Trường Sa was merged into the Province of Phú Khánh. In March, the Administrative Conference of World Wireless Communications agreed to consider at its next meeting Vietnam’s proposal of its broadcast in the East Sea. On May 8, Vietnam objected the actions of the Chinese Committee of Study of Place-names in giving new names to the islands, reefs, beaches in the East Sea (including the Paracel and Spratly Islands). The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs objected China’s announcement of the establishment of the Hainan administrative unit covering the Tây Sa and Nam Sa.

Appendix 1  143 1985. General Van Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese Minister of National Defense, made a visit to the Spratly archipelago. 1986. In December, Malaysia occupied Mariveles Reef. 1987. From May 16 to June 6, the Chinese Navy engaged in military exercises in the Spratly Islands area. On November  19, the Chinese Navy forces landed in Louisa Island. 1988. On March  14, the Chinese Navy attacked Vietnamese supply ships and caused heavy casualties for Vietnam: three transport ships were burned and 74 soldiers missing in action. Chinese troops occupied the following: Fiery Cross Reef, Cuarteron Reef, Gaven Reef, Johnson South Reef, Hughes Reef, and Subi Reef. The Government of Vietnam informed the United Nations, sent diplomatic notes to China to protest its actions, especially the diplomatic notes of March  17, March  23 and March  26 that proposed negotiations to resolve the conflict; China continued its occupation of the reefs and refused to negotiate. On April 14, Vietnam sent a diplomatic note to protest China’s establishment of the Province of Hainan including the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. On April 25, Vietnam publicly disclosed documents on the issue of the Paracel and Spratly Islands, repeating its desire of peaceful negotiations. 1989. China planted sovereignty markers on the occupied reefs. On August 14, the Government of Vietnam created the Economic-Scientific-Services Zone for the area covering Vanguard Bank, Alexandra Bank, Grainger Bank, Prince of Wales Bank, Prince Consort Bank belonging to Vietnam’s continental shelf located at 7°–8°30’ latitude North and 109°–112°20’ longitude East. 1990. On April  28, Vietnam objected China’s planting of memorial stele on Eldad Reef in the Spratly archipelago. 1991. On November  10, the leaders of Vietnam and China signed in Beijing the joint communiqué on the situation in the normalization of relations between the two countries. 1992. On March 4, Vietnam sent a diplomatic note to object to China’s National Assembly’s announcement of the Law of Territorial Waters and Surrounding Areas, that included the Paracel and Spratly Islands. On May 8, China signed a contract with an American company to explore and exploit a lot having an area of 25,255  km2 in the area called Wan Anpei 21 by the Chinese located within Vietnam’s continental shelf. On May 16, Vietnam declared that the aforementioned contract was null and void, and that it was a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty over its continental shelf and its economic exclusive zone. On May 24, Vietnam object Taiwan’s demand of sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. On July 6, Vietnam sent a diplomatic note to protest China’s planting of markers on Eldad Reef in the Spratly archipelago. On October 1, the Chinese Prime Minister declared: “I hope we can put aside the issue of sovereignty over the Nam Sa archipelago so that we can focus on the common exploitation with other countries.”

144  Appendix 1 1992. On October  12, in Beijing, was the Vietnam–China negotiation on the division of borders and territories. The two parties exchanged viewpoints on the inland borders and territories. On December 24, in Hanoi, the Prime Ministers of Vietnam and China agreed that the two countries would negotiate to adjust their differences on borders and territories inland and offshore.

Appendix 2 Texts

Appendix 2Appendix 2

2.1  Nguyễn Dynasty’s “châu bản” 2.1.1 Nguyễn Dynasty’s “châu bản” of the 13th Day of the 7th Month of the 16th Year of Minh Mạng (1835) In this report, Nội các gave a follow-up to a previous royal order that Company Commander Phạm Văn Nguyên, after his return from a mission in Paracel Islands, should be subjected to punishment by the Ministry of Public Works. Now that a full investigation has been made, Nội các recommends the following: • • • • • •

Company Commander Phạm Văn Nguyên be exempted from punishment with strokes of the club and be reinstalled in his position. The officials responsible for incomplete and unclear maps, cartographers Trần Văn Vân, Nguyễn Văn Tiến (Tiệm) and Nguyễn Văn Hoằng, sentenced to punishment with 80 strokes of the club, be exempted from punishment. The navigators Vũ Văn Hùng, Phạm Văn Sênh be awarded with small Phi long coins, 3 mai each. The soldiers from the elephant corps, accompanying the team in this mission, be awarded 1 quan each, and be sent back to their old unit. The civilian workers sent by the provinces, except for the two that had already been rewarded, be awarded 1 quan each to show the court’s compassion and generosity. Those civilian workers of this mission, who were not exempted from personal tax, and who had also participated in the mission of last year, all be awarded 1 quan each.

2.1.2 Nguyễn Dynasty’s “châu bản” of the 19th Day of the 7th Month of the 19th Year of Minh Mạng (1838) Based on past practice, Bố chánh sứ of the Province of Quảng Ngãi Đặng Đức Thiệm submitted a report, asking for exemption of the one-year tax for two boats, which had performed a public service of transporting soldiers and civilian workers to Paracel Islands on the mission of surveying and measuring the whole area from the second half of the 3rd month to the second half of the 6th month. The report listed the names of the boat owners and the monetary value of exemption.

Illustration 4  Châu Bản 13-7-MM16 (1835), page 1

Illustration 5  Châu Bản 13-7-MM16 (1835), page 2

Illustration 6  Châu Bản 13-7-MM16 (1835), page 3

Illustration 7  Châu Bản 13-7-MM16 (1835), page 4 Source: National Archive Center I. Notation: Volume 54, Sheet 94

Illustration 8  Châu Bản 19-7-MM19 (1838), page 1

Illustration 9  Châu Bản 19-7-MM19 (1838), page 2

Illustration 10  Châu Bản 19-7-MM19 (1838), page 3 Source: National Archive Center I. Notation: Vol. 64, Sheet 146–147

Appendix 2  153

2.2 Order (Certificate) of the 15th Day of the 4th Month of the 15th Year of Minh Mạng (1834) of the Bố Chánh, Án Sát (Judge) of the Province of Quảng Ngãi This order was consisted of four pages, each page 36 cm long, 24 cm wide, with the following contents: In the instruction sheet received from the Ministry of National Defense last month, there was a paragraph as follows: Obeying the Emperor’s decreelaw, the Ministry has instructed the Province to make preparations for the commandeering of 3 large boats, for the repair and improvement of the boats, and to hold them ready in the capital city. The Royal Envoy, soldiers, and navy sailors to form an advance team. All working in cooperation for an expeditious departure of the surveying mission to Paracel Islands. Provincial officials should also organize ritual ceremony to pray for the mission, and to lease 3 light and fast boats with necessary and well-maintained tools. Vũ Văn Hùng, who had been sent last year, was again ordered to go. Civilian workers should be selected among people living along the coast, skilled in seafaring to serve as sailors on the boats, 8 persons for each boat for a total of 24. All would depart in the second-half of the 3rd month. All prepartions have now been completed and the Royal Envoy has arrived with the boats. Now, based on appropriate selection criteria submitted by Vũ Văn Hùng, certificates should be conferred to good seafarers like the Đặng Văn Xiểm group, who, as navigators, together with the sailors, would follow the Royal Envoy, the soldiers and Vũ Văn Hùng to go to Paracel Islands to carry out the assignment. This mission is particularly important. All must do their best to fulfill their duties. You will be punished for laziness or negligence. All the personnels are listed below. Navigators Đặng Văn Xiểm, from the Ward of An Hải, District of Bình Sơn, and Dương Văn Đinh, of the Village of Hoa Diêm, who were issued certificates, will carry out this order. Sailors: • • • • • • •

Name: Đề Phạm Vị Thanh, of Ward of An Hải Name: Trâm Ao Văn Trâm, of East Lệ Thủy Name: Sơ Trần Văn Kham, of Ward of An Vĩnh Name: Xuyên Nguyễn Văn Mạnh, of Ward of An Hải Name: Lê Trần Văn Lê, of Hamlet of Bãn An Name: Doanh Nguyễn Văn Doanh, of Village of Thạch Ốc An Thạch, District of Mộ Cách Name: Vũ Văn Nội, and Trương Văn Tài, sent from Kim Thương team.

Illustration 11  Order of 15-4-MM15 (1834), page 1

Illustration 12  Order of 15-4-MM15 (1834), page 2

Illustration 13  Order of 15-4-MM15 (1834), page 3

Illustration 14  Order of 15-4-MM15 (1834), page 4 Source: Text Preserved at the National Borders Committee

158  Appendix 2

2.3 Decree No. 4762-CP of December 21, 1933 of the Governor of Cochinchina Transtated into English: Decree-Law No. 4762-CP of December 21, 1933 of the Governor of Cochinchina GOVERNOR OF COCHINCHINA Officer of the Legion of Honour Considering the Decree of October 29, 1911; Considering the Decree of June 9, 1922 bearing the reorganization of the ­Colonial Council and susequent texts; Considering the Announcement published in the Official Journal of the French Republic of July  20, 1933 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the occupation of certain islands by French naval units; Considering the letters no. 634 and 2243-AP of August 24, 1933 and September 14, 1933 of the Governor-General, related to the annexation of the islands and islets of the Spratly or Storm Islands; Considering the deliberations of the Colonial Council of October 23, 1933; The Privy Council having been consulted, decreed Article 1.– Spratly Island and the dependent islets Amboyna Cay, Itu Aba, the group of two islands [i.e. Northeast Cay, Southwest Cay], Loaita Island and Thitu Island, located in the Sea of China [i.e. East Sea, or South China Sea] are to be incorporated into the Province of Bà Rịa. Article 2. – The Administrator, Head of the Province of Bà Rịa, and the Head of the Service of Cadastre and Topography, each within his responsibility, are to put this Decree into effect. Saigon, December 21, 1933 Signed: J. Krautheimer

2.4 Decree-Law No. 10 dated the 29th Day of the 2nd Month of the 13th Year of Bảo Đại (March 30, 1938), detaching the Paracel archipelago from the Province of Nam Ngãi and incorporating it into the Province of Thừa Thiên Emperor Bảo Đại’s Decree-Law no. 10, dated the 29th Day of the 2nd Month of the 13th Year of his reign (1938), detaching the Paracel archipelago from the Province of Nam Ngãi and incorporating it into the Povince of Bà Rịa. Following are its contents: “Considering the Paracel Islands have belonged to Annam for a long time, and under previous dynasties these islands were parts of the Province of Nam Ngãi.

Appendix 2  159 During his reign, Our Dynasty’s Founding Emperor has followed this practice because all contacts and communications with these islands were made through the estuaries of the Province of Nam Ngãi. Now, thanks to the advance in the marine navigation, the nature of today’s contacts has changed. Our Annam’s royal court representative, on a mission to these islands and the representative of the Protectorate Government have submitted a request to the Palace that these Paracel Islands be incorporated into the Province of Thừa Thiên for convenience.” The Emperor decreed: “Approval granted for the incorporation of Paracel Islands into the Province of Thừa Thiên; administratively, these islands are to be placed under the authority of the Head of this Province.”

2.5 Submitted report of head of his majesty’s Civil Cabinet Phạm Quỳnh Translated text and annotations by the author Imperial Palace Huế, 27th Day of 12th Month of 13th Year of Bảo Đại His Majesty’s Civil Cabinet (15 February 1939) No. 664 Her Majesty’s Civil Cabinet respectfully Reports: We have received the letter no. 177s-sp, dated February 10, 1933, of Your Estimable Envoy in which the Envoy reported that the Indigenous Guards of Annam have made great contributions in pacifying rebellious montagnards and in building defense posts in Paracel Islands. The Envoy thought that a Fifth Rank Dragon Medal should be awarded to the Flag of that Unit, and asked that we request Approval from Your Majesty. All expenses in the provision of the certificate and the medal will be charged to the budget of Annam. We have received permission to discuss You Majesty’s instructions on the provision of medals for the Unit of the Indigenous Guards of Central Annam. We respectfully sumbit our request for Your Majesty’s approval, expecting Your Majesty’s short Decree and complying with six after-Decree steps. Respecfully Submit, Your Humble Servant (signature)

160  Appendix 2 Author’s annotations: This is a text written in Quốc ngữ (Vietnamese Roman-alphabet script) during the first-half of the XX century. Following are annotations: • • • • • • •

Binh Thanh-khố Trung kì: lính Khố xanh ở Trung kì, Indigenous Guards of Annam Miền Man-di: the Highlands (Annam) Ngũ-hạng Long-tinh: Fifth Rank Dragon Medal Hiệu-Kì ngạch ấy: Flag of the Unit of Indigenous Guards Phí-ngân cấp-chỉ và thiệt-chất huy chương: Instructions from the Emperor to provide monetary award and medal of good quality Có phụng nghị giạng-bản Dụ-ngữ bản Chuẩn huy chương: permission given to discuss His Majesty’s Approval for Medal Như mong Dụ đoãn: expecting Your Majesty’s short Decree

2.6 Decree-Law No. 3282 of May 5, 1939 of the GovernorGeneral of Indochina

Illustration 15 Decree-Law No. 3282 of May 5, 1939 by the Governor-General of Cochinchina, page 1

Appendix 2 161

Illustration 16 Decree-Law No. 3282 of May 5, 1939 by the Governor-General of Cochinchina, page 2

Translated into English: GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDOCHINA No. 3282 Great Officer of the Legion of Honour Considering the Decree of October 20, 1911, determining the authority of the Governor-General and the organization of administrative and financial systems of Indochina; Considering the Decree of August 5, 1936; Considering the Decree of December 28, 1934, determining the provision of allowances and supplemental allowances; Considering the Decree no. 156-SC of June 15, 1932, determining the establishment of an administrative unit in Paracel Islands belonging to the Province of Thứa Thiên (Annam) under the name of District of Hoàng Sa. Based on the proposal of the Central Annam Resident; decreed Primary Article. The Decree no. 156-SC of June  15, 1932 is now changed as follows:

162  Appendix 2 Article 1 – Two administrative units are to be established in the Paracel archipelago belonging to the Province of Thừa Thiên (Annam) under the names of “Delegation Crescent and the surrounding area” and “Delegation Amphitrite and the surrounding area.” The demarcation line between the two units is determined by the 112th meridian, except for the Vuladdore Reef belonging completely to the Delegation Crescent. Article 2 – The administrative officials heading the two units as envoys of the Resident of the Province of Thừa Thiên will reside on Pattle Island and Woody Island. Article 3 – Annual allowances for each envoy will be 400 piastres ($400.00) listed in the Decree of December  28, 1934. This allowance is provided by the budget of Annam, in accordance with Chapter 12, Article 6, Paragraph 3. Secondary Article. – The Deputy Governor-General of Indochina and the Superintendent of Annam, each within his responsibility, are to put this Decree into effect. Hanoi, May 5, 1939 Signature: J. BRÉVIÉ

2.7 Report of the Meteorological Station on Pattle Islands (Paracel Archipelago) of February 1952 Translation: Excerpt from the monthly report of the meteorological station on Pattle Island (Paracel Islands) of February 1952. Personnel List of personnel serving on Pattle Island (Paracel Islands) Up to February 29, 1952 Name

Position

Rank

Family Status

Tran Van Manh Nguyen Huyen Thong Vu Van Than Pham Hiep Bac Nguyen Van Son

Chief of station Communication

Cadre Level 5 Cadre level 6

Married + 5 children Married + 2 children

Observer/Recorder Observer/Recorder Communication

In training Daily wage Daily wage

Married + 2 children Single Single

Appendix 3 The Law of the Sea of Vietnam

Appendix 3Appendix 3

National Assembly Law no: 18/2012/QH13 LAW OF THE SEA OF VIETNAM

Pursuant to the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam amended in accordance with Resolution 51/2001/QH10; The National Assembly promulgates the Law of the Sea of Vietnam.

Chapter I General Provisions Article 1. The scope of this Law This Law provides for the baseline, the internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, the continental shelf, islands, the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos and other archipelagos under the sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of Vietnam; operations in Vietnam’s maritime zones; maritime economic development; the management and protection of the sea and islands. Article 2. Legal application 1. The provisions of this Law shall prevail in case there are differences between the provisions of this Law and those of other laws in relation to the sovereignty and legal status of Vietnam’s maritime zones. 2. In case there are differences between the provisions of this Law and those of an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party, the provisions of the international treaty shall prevail. Article 3. Terminology In this Law, the following terms are understood as follows: 1. The maritime zones of Vietnam cover the internal water, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf under Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, determined in accordance with

164  Appendix 3

2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7.

Vietnamese legislation, the international treaties on boundaries and territory to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party and in conformity with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The high seas cover all parts of the sea beyond the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam and other states, and not including the seabed and the subsoil thereof. Vessels mean vehicles operating on or under the water surface, including ships, boats, other engined or non-engined vehicles. Military vessels mean vessels of the armed forces of a state bearing outer signals that clearly manifest the nationality of that state, commanded by a navy officer serving that state, whose name appears in the list of officers or in equivalent documents. Such vessels are operated by a crew working under military orders. Vessels for official service mean vessels that are used primarily for the conduct of non-commercial State activities. Resources include living and non-living resources underwater, on the seabed and the subsoil. The isobath is the line connecting points of the same depth at sea.

Article 4. Principles of management and protection of the sea 1. The management and protection of the sea are conducted in a unified manner in accordance with Vietnamese legislation and in conformity with the United Nations Charter and other international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party. 2. Vietnamese agencies, organizations and citizens have the responsibility to safeguard the sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of Vietnam over its maritime zones, islands and archipelagos, as well as protect marine resources and the marine environment. 3. The State of Vietnam settles disputes related to the sea and islands with other countries by peaceful means, in conformity with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, international law and practices. Article 5. Policy on the management and protection of the sea 1. Bring into full play the strength of the entire nation, take necessary measures to safeguard the sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the maritime zones, islands and archipelagos, protect marine resources and the marine environment, and promote the development of maritime economy. 2. Develop and implement strategies, planning, plans on the management, utilization, exploitation, and protection of maritime zones, islands and archipelagos in a sustainable manner for the sake of socio-economic development, national defence and security. 3. Encourage organizations, individuals to invest capital, labour and materials and apply scientific and technological achievements in the utilization,

Appendix 3  165 exploitation and development of maritime economy suitable with the conditions of each maritime zones, meeting the demand for national defence and security; increase information dissemination on the potentials of and policies and legislation on the sea. 4. Encourage and safeguard fishery activities conducted by Vietnamese fishermen in Vietnam’s maritime zones, protect the operation of Vietnamese organizations and citizens beyond Vietnam’s maritime zones in compliance with international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party and international law and the legislation of the coastal states concerned. 5. Allocate appropriate investment to ensure the operation of sea patrol and surveillance forces, to improve the logistic infrastructure to serve activities at sea, in islands and archipelagos and to develop maritime human resources. 6. Implement preferential policies previledges in favour of people living in islands and archipelagos and preferential treatment to forces engaged in the management and protection of maritime zones, islands and archipelagos. Article 6. International cooperation on maritime matters 1. The State of Vietnam strongly promotes international cooperation on maritime matters with countries, regional and international organizations on the basis of international law, respect for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, equality and mutual benefit. 2. International cooperation on maritime matters includes: a. Maritime and oceanic surveys, researches; scientific and technological applications; b. Climate change response, natural disasters warning and prevention; c. Protection of marine bio-diversity and ecology; d. Prevention and combat against marine environmental pollution, treatment of waste resulted from marine economic activities, response to oil spill incidents; e. Search and rescue at sea; f. Prevention and combat against crimes at sea; g. Sustainable exploitation of marine resources, development of sea tourism. Article 7. State management of the sea 1. The Government of Vietnam exercises nation-wide state management of the sea. 2. Ministries, agencies of ministerial level, People’s Committee of coastal provinces and cities under central administration, within the scope of their duties and competence, exercise state management of the sea.

166  Appendix 3

Chapter II The maritime zones of Vietnam Article 8. Establishment of the baseline The baseline used for measuring the breadth of Vietnam’s territorial sea is straight baselines publicised by the Government. The Government of Vietnam shall determine and, upon approval by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee, publicise the baselines in areas where baselines have not been established. Article 9. Internal waters The internal waters are the waters adjacent to the coast on the landward side of the baseline and constitute part of Vietnam’s territory. Article 10. Legal status of the internal waters The State of Vietnam exercises full and absolute sovereignty over the internal waters as it does over the land territory. Article 11. Territorial sea The territorial sea of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the water area extending 12 nautical miles from the baseline. The outer limit of the territorial sea is Vietnam’s national maritime border. Article 12. Legal status of the territorial sea 1. The State exercises full and absolute sovereignty over the territorial sea, the air space over, as well as the seabed and subsoil of the territorial sea in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. 2. Vessels of all states enjoy the right of innocent passage through Vietnam’s territorial sea. Foreign military vessels exercising the right of innocent passage through Vietnam’s territorial sea shall give prior notice to Vietnamese competent authorities. 3. Innocent passage of foreign vessels shall be conducted on the basis of respect for the peace, independence, sovereignty, legislation of Vietnam and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party. 4. Foreign aircrafts are not permitted to enter the air space over the territorial sea of Vietnam unless otherwise agreed upon by the Vietnamese Government or in accordance with international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party. 5. The State has sovereignty over any type of archaeological and historical objects in Vietnam’s territorial sea.

Appendix 3  167 Article 13. Contiguous zone The contiguous zone is the sea area adjacent to and beyond the territorial sea, which is 12 nautical miles wide from the outer limit of the territorial sea. Article 14. Legal status of the contiguous zone 1. The State exercises sovereign rights, jurisdiction and other rights stipulated in Article 16 of this Law over the contiguous zone. 2. The State exercises control within the contiguous zone to prevent and punish acts of infringement of legislation on customs, tariff, health or immigration committed in the territory or the territorial sea of Vietnam. Article 15. Exclusive economic zone The exclusive economic zone is an area adjacent to and beyond the territorial sea of Vietnam, which integrates with the territorial sea to form a maritime zone extending to 200 nautical miles from the baseline. Article 16. The legal status of Exclusive economic zone 1. Within the exclusive economic zone, the State of Vietnam exercises the following rights: a. Sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting, managing and conserving the natural resources of the waters superjacent to the seabed, of the seabed and its subsoil; as well as with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone. b. Jurisdiction with regard to the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures; as well as marine scientific research, protection and preservation of the marine environment. c. Other rights and duties in accordance with international law. 2. The State of Vietnam respects freedoms of navigation and overflight, the right to lay submarine cables and pipelines and lawful uses of the sea by other states in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone in accordance with the provisions of this Law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party, provided that those operations are not detrimental to the sovereign rights, jurisdiction and national maritime interest of Vietnam. The laying of submarine cables and pipelines is subject to the consent in writing by Vietnamese competent authorities. 3. Foreign organizations and individuals are allowed to participate in exploring, using and exploiting natural resources, conducting scientific research, establishing installations and structures in the exclusive economic zone of Vietnam on the basis of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party, contracts signed in accordance with the provisions

168  Appendix 3 of Vietnamese legislation or with the permission granted by the Vietnamese Government. 4. The rights related to the seabed and subsoil are exercised in accordance with Articles 17 and 18 of this Law. Article 17. Continental shelf The continental shelf of the Vietnam is the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent and beyond the territorial sea of Vietnam, throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory, islands and archipelagos of Vietnam, to the outer edge of the continental margin. Where the outer edge of the continent margin does not extend up to 200 nautical miles measured from the baseline, the continental shelf in that area extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles measured from the baseline. Where the outer edge of the continent margin extends beyond 200 nautical miles measured from the baseline, the continental shelf in that area extends to a distance not exceeding 350 nautical miles measured from the baseline or not exceeding 100 nautical miles measured from the 2,500 metre isobath. Article 18. Legal status of the continental shelf 1. The State of Vietnam exercises sovereign rights over its continental shelf for the purpose of exploring and exploiting natural resources. 2. The sovereign rights stipulated in paragraph 1 of this Article are exclusive in the sense that no one may conduct activities of exploring the continental shelf or exploiting natural resources of the continental shelf of Vietnam without the consent by the Vietnamese Government. 3. The State of Vietnam has exclusive rights to exploit the subsoil, authorize and regulate drilling on the continental shelf for any purpose. 4. The State of Vietnam respects the right to lay submarine cables and pipelines and other lawful uses of the sea by other states on the continental shelf of Vietnam in accordance with the provisions of this Law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party, provided that those operations are not detrimental to the sovereign rights, jurisdiction and national maritime interest of Vietnam. The laying of submarine cables and pipelines are subjected to the consent in writing by Vietnamese competent authorities. 5. Foreign organizations and individuals are allowed to participate in exploring, using, exploiting natural resources, conducting scientific research, establishing installations and structures on the continental shelf of Vietnam on the basis of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party, contracts signed in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese legislation or with the permission granted by the Vietnamese Government.

Appendix 3  169 Article 19. Islands and archipelagos 1. An island is a naturally formed area of land surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide.   An archipelago is a group of islands, including parts of the islands, interconnecting water and other natural features closely related. 2. Islands and archipelagos under the sovereignty of Vietnam are integral parts of Vietnam’s territory. Article 20. The internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of islands, archipelagos 1. Islands which can sustain human habitation or economic life of their own have internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. 2. Rocks which can not sustain human habitation or economic life of their own have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. 3. The internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of islands are determined in accordance with Articles 9, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 17 of this Law and demonstrated by maritime charts and geographical coordinates publicised by the Vietnamese Government. Article 21. Legal status of islands and archipelagos 1. The State of Vietnam exercises sovereignty over the islands and archipelagos of Vietnam. 2. The legal status of the internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of islands are as provided for in Articles 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 of this Law.

Chapter III Operations in maritime zones of Vietnam Article 22. General provisions 1. Organizations and individuals conducting operations in the maritime zones of Vietnam must respect Vietnam’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, sovereign rights, jurisdiction and her national interests, observe Vietnam’s domestic laws and related provisions of international law. 2. The State of Vietnam respects and protects the legitimate rights and interests of vessels, organizations, individuals conducting operations in the maritime zones of Vietnam in conformity with Vietnamese laws and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party.

170  Appendix 3 Article 23. Innocent passage in the territorial sea 1. Passage through the territorial sea means the navigation of foreign vessels through the territorial sea of Vietnam for either of the following purposes: a. Traversing the territorial sea without entering the internal waters of Vietnam, or calling at a port facility, station or dock outside Vietnam’s internal waters; b. Entry or exit from Vietnam’s internal waters or calling at or leave such facility, station or dock. 2. Passage through the territorial sea must be continuous and expeditious, except in cases of maritime accidents, force majeure accidents, distress or for the purpose of rescuing people, vessels or aircrafts in distress. 3. Innocent passage in the territorial sea must not be prejudicial to the peace, national defence and security of Vietnam, maritime order and safety. The passage of a foreign vessel through the territorial sea of Vietnam shall be considered prejudicial to the peace, national defence and security of Vietnam, maritime order and safety if that vessel conducts any of the following acts: a. Threat or use of force against the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Vietnam; b. Threat or use of force against the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries; any act in violation of the fundamental principles of international law as stipulated in the United Nations Charter; c. Practice or exercise with any type of weapons and in any form; d. Collection of information detrimental to the national defence and security of Vietnam; e. Propaganda aimed at undermining the national defence and security of Vietnam; f. Launching, landing or taking on board any aircraft; g. Launching, landing or taking on board any military device; h. Loading or unloading any commodity, currency or person contrary to Vietnamese laws and regulations on customs, tariff, health or immigration; i. Intentionally causing serious marine environmental pollution; j. Illegal fishing; k. Illegal conduct of research, surveys, explorations; l. Adversely affecting the operation of the information and communication system or other installations or structures of Vietnam; m. Any operation not directly related to the passage. Article 24. Obligations while conducting innocent passage 1. Foreign organizations and individuals, while conducting innocent passage in Vietnam’s territorial sea, must observe Vietnamese laws and regulations on the followings:

Appendix 3  171 a. Safety of navigation, regulation of maritime traffic, sea lanes and traffic separation; b. Protection of installations and systems to ensure maritime traffic, other installations or structures; c. Protection of cables, pipelines; d. Conservation of marine living resources; e. Fishing and aquaculture; f. Preservation of marine environment, prevention, restriction and control of pollution thereof; g. Maritime scientific research and hydrographical surveys; h. Customs, tariff, health, immigration. 2. The captain of a foreign nuclear-powered vessel or a vessel transporting radioactive, noxious or dangerous substances must take the following obligations in passing through Vietnam’s territorial sea: a. Carry sufficient technical documents related to the vessel and goods on board and documents of mandatory civil insurance; b. Be ready to provide the competent authorities of Vietnam with all technical documents related to the vessel as well as goods on board; c. Fully implement the special precautionary measures established for such vessels by Vietnamese laws and the international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party; d. Observe the decisions made by the Vietnamese competent authorities on the application of the special precautionary measures, including ban of passage through Vietnam’s territorial sea or forcing to leave Vietnam’s territorial sea immediately in case there are clear signs or evidence of possible leakages or environmental pollution. Article 25. Sea lanes and traffic separation in the territorial sea for innocent passage. 1. The Government establishes and publicizes sea lanes and traffic separation in the territorial sea for innocent passage for the purpose of ensuring safety of navigation. 2. Foreign oil tankers, nuclear-powered vessels or vessels transporting radioactive, noxious or dangerous substances while conducting innocent passage in Vietnam’s territorial sea may be required to use the sea lanes specified for concrete cases. Article 26. Temporary suspension or restriction of innocent passage in the territorial sea 1. For the sake of safeguarding the sovereignty, national defence, security and interests or securing safety of navigation, protecting marine resources and the marine ecology, combatting pollution, tackling maritime accidents or marine

172  Appendix 3 environmental disasters, preventing the spread of epidemics, the Government may temporarily suspend or restrict the exercise of innocent passage in specified areas in Vietnam’s territorial sea. 2. The temporary suspension or restriction of innocent passage in specified areas in Vietnam’s territorial sea in accordance with Paragraph 1 of this Article shall be made public domestically and internationally on the “Maritime Notice” in accordance with international maritime practice at least 15 days before the temporary suspension or restriction takes effect or immediately after the application of such measure in case of emergency. Article 27. Foreign military vessels and government vessels coming to Vietnam 1. Foreign military vessels and government vessels shall be allowed to enter the internal waters, anchor at a port facility, station or dock within the internal waters or at a port facility, station or dock outside the internal waters of Vietnam only at the invitation of the Vietnamese Government or in accordance with the agreement between the competent authorities of Vietnam and the flag States. 2. Foreign military vessels and government vessels, while being in the internal waters, ports, stations or docks within the internal waters or at the port facilities, stations or docks outside the internal waters of Vietnam, shall observe the provisions of this Law and other related laws and regulations and ensure that their operations conform to the invitation of the Vietnamese Government or the agreement with the Vietnamese competent authorities. Article 28. Responsibilities of foreign military vessels and government vessels in the maritime zones of Vietnam In case foreign military vessels violate Vietnamese laws while operating in the maritime zones of Vietnam, the Vietnamese sea patrol and surveillance forces shall require them to put an immediate stop to the violation and, if such vessels are in Vietnam’s territorial sea, to leave the territorial sea immediately. Violating vessels must observe the requests and orders of the Vietnamese sea patrol and surveillance forces. In case a foreign military vessel or a vessel of official service violates Vietnamese laws or related international law while operating in Vietnam’s maritime zones, the flag State shall be responsible for any damage caused by such vessel to Vietnam. Article 29. Operation of foreign submarines and other underwater vehicles in Vietnam’s internal waters and territorial sea Within Vietnam’s internal waters and territorial sea, foreign submarines and other underwater vehicles must operate on the water surface and fly their national

Appendix 3  173 flags unless otherwise permitted by the Vietnamese Government or agreed upon between the Vietnamese Government and the Government of the flag States. Article 30. Criminal jurisdiction over foreign vessels 1. Within the scope of their mandates and responsibilities, the Vietnamese sea patrol and surveillance forces shall have the right to take measures such as arrests of persons, conduct investigation of crimes taking place on board of foreign vessels during the passage in Vietnam’s territorial sea after leaving from the internal waters. 2. In regard to crimes taking place on board of foreign vessels during the passage in Vietnam’s territorial sea but not upon leaving from the internal waters, the Vietnamese sea patrol and surveillance forces shall have the right to arrest persons, conduct investigation in the following cases: a. The consequence of the crimes affects Vietnam; b. The crimes committed are aimed at sabotaging peace in Vietnam or law and order in Vietnam’s territorial sea; c. The captain of the vessel, or a diplomatic or consular official of the flag State requests for assistance by the competent agencies of Vietnam; d. To prevent acts of trafficking in persons, illicit trafficking, stockpiling or transportation of narcotics. 3. The sea patrol and surveillance forces shall not take any measure on board of a foreign vessel navigating in Vietnam’s territorial sea for the purposes of arresting people or investigating crimes happening before the vessel enters Vietnam’s territorial sea if the vessel had departed from a foreign port and only passes through the territorial sea without going into the internal waters of Vietnam, except for the case of preventing or limiting the pollution of marine environment or for exercising the national jurisdiction prescribed in sub-paragraph b, paragraph 1, Article 16 of this Law. 4. The application of criminal procedures must be in conformity with the provisions of Vietnamese laws and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party. Article 31. Civil jurisdiction over foreign vessels. 1. Sea patrol and surveillance forces shall not force a foreign vessel passing through the territorial sea to stop or change course for the purpose of exercising the civil jurisdiction over an individual aboard the vessel. 2. Sea patrol and surveillance forces shall not arrest or apply civil measures to foreign vessels navigating in the maritime zones of Vietnam outside the internal waters, except as required in compliance with the obligations or civil responsibilities borne by the vessel when passing by or in order to pass through the maritime zones of Vietnam.

174  Appendix 3 3. Sea patrol and surveillance forces may apply measures, including arrest, against a foreign vessel for the purpose of exercising civil jurisdiction if the vessel is anchored in the territorial sea or passing through the territorial sea upon leaving the internal waters of Vietnam. Article 32. Communication in ports, piers or docks of Vietnam Organizations, individuals and vessels while staying in ports, piers or docks within the internal waters or in port facilities, stations or docks of Vietnam outside the internal waters shall communicate in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese laws or relevant international law. Article 33. Search and rescue 1. Individuals and vessels or flying vehicles, which are in distress or in danger at sea and in need of assistance, shall transmit SOS signals as prescribed and, as soon as the condition permits, inform the port authorities or the centre for coordination of maritime search and rescue or nearest local authorities of Vietnam for necessary assistance and guidance. 2. When noticing people or vessels in distress or in danger at sea or receiving SOS signals from people or vessels in distress at sea, all individuals and vessels must render all possible assistance to people or vessels in distress or in danger if the actual situation allows and without causing danger to their vessels or people on board and promptly inform individuals or organizations concerned. 3. The State guarantees necessary assistance in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese laws and relevant international law and in the humanitarian spirit to the people and vessels in distress or in danger at sea so that they may have quick access to search, rescue and recovery. 4. In the Vietnamese internal waters, territorial sea, the State has the exclusive rights in carrying out search and rescue activities for the people and vessels in distress or in danger requiring help. 5. Competent authorities have the right to mobilize individuals and vessels operating in the maritime zones of Vietnam to join in search and rescue if the actual conditions allow and without causing danger to those individuals and vessels. The mobilization and requests laid down in this Article are only applied in emergency cases and only during the time necessary for the search and rescue work. 6. Maritime rescue is conducted on the basis of maritime rescue contract between the vessel owners or the captains of the vessel rendering the rescue and the vessel requiring rescue, in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese law and relevant international law.

Appendix 3  175 7. Foreign vessels entering the maritime zones of Vietnam to conduct search and rescue or to address the consequences of natural disasters or crises at the request of the Vietnamese competent authorities shall abide by the provisions of the Vietnamese law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party. Article 34. Artificial islands, installations or structures at sea 1. Artificial islands, installations or structures at sea include: a. Drilling platforms at sea and all supporting facilities ensuring the normal and continuous operations of the drilling platforms or specialized equipment for maritime exploration, exploitation and usage; b. Maritime signposts; c. Other installations and structures installed and used at sea. 2. The State has the jurisdiction over artificial islands, installations and structures in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam, including the jurisdiction prescribed in relevant laws on customs, tax, health, security and immigration. 3. Artificial islands, installations and structures at sea and supporting facilities have the safety zone of 500 metres from the furthest point of those artificial islands, installations and structures at sea, but do not have the territorial sea or other maritime zones of their own. 4. No artificial island, installation or structure shall be constructed and no safety zone shall be established around artificial islands, installations or structures in the locations where the existence of such artificial island, installation or structure and their safety zones may impede the use of the sea lanes recognized as essential to international maritime transport. 5. Upon expiration of usage, installations and structures at sea must be dissembled and removed from the maritime zones of Vietnam, except otherwise permitted by the competent authorities. In case installations or structures and their parts have not been fully removed due to technical reasons or as permitted, information regarding their location, size, shape, depth must be made available and appropriate maritime signposts or other forms of signal must be installed. 6. Information related to the construction of artificial islands, installations and structures at sea and the establishment of safety zones around them, or the disassembling of all installations, structures and their parts must be made available to the Vietnamese competent agencies and duely announced domestically and internationally, at least 15 days prior to the date of construction, establishment or disassembling of such artificial islands, installations or structures.

176  Appendix 3 Article 35. Preservation, protection of marine resources and environment 1. When operating in the maritime zones of Vietnam, vessels, organizations and individuals must observe all provisions of Vietnam laws and relevant international law relating to the preservation and protection of marine resources and environment. 2. When transporting, loading or unloading goods or materials that may cause damage to marine resources and human life, or may pollute the marine environment, vessels, organizations and individuals must use specialized facilities and measures as prescribed to prevent and minimize the possible damage to human beings, marine resources and environment. 3. Vessels, organizations and individuals must not discharge, sink or dump industrial waste, nuclear waste or other toxic waste in the maritime zones of Vietnam. 4. Vessels, organizations or individuals causing harmful effects to the marine resources and environment in the Vietnamese maritime zones, harbours or piers, in violation of the provisions of Vietnamese laws and relevant international law, shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese laws and the international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party; those vessels, organizations or individuals shall be responsible for cleaning up and recovering the environment, compensate for the damage as prescribed by law. 5. Organizations or individuals operating in the maritime zones of Vietnam are obliged to pay taxes, fees, charges and other contributions for the environmental protection in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese laws and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party. Article 36. Marine scientific research 1. Foreign vessels, organizations or individuals conducting scientific research in the maritime zones of Vietnam must obtain license from competent State agency of Vietnam, be monitored by Vietnam, allow Vietnamese scientists to participate in the research and provide the Vietnamese side with research materials, original samples and related research results. 2. When conducting scientific research in the maritime zones of Vietnam, vessels, organizations or individuals must abide by the followings: a. Research is conducted exclusively for peaceful purpose(s); b. Research is conducted with appropriate methods and facilities under Vietnamese laws and relevant international law; c. Not to impede other lawful activities at sea under Vietnamese laws and relevant international law; d. The State of Vietnam is entitled to participate in foreign scientific research activities conducted in the maritime zones of Vietnam, to be

Appendix 3  177 provided with the research materials, original samples and to apply and use the results obtained from such scientific research or survey. Article 37. Acts forbidden in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam When exercising the freedoms of navigation and overflight in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam, organizations or individuals are not permitted to: 1. Conduct any act against the sovereignty, defence and security of Vietnam; 2. Conduct illegal exploitation of living resources, including illegal fishing; 3. Carry out illegal exploitation of currents, wind energy and other non-living resources; 4. Illegally construct, install and use artificial facilities or structures; 5. Conduct unlawful drilling or digging; 6. Conduct unlawful marine scientific research; 7. Pollute the marine environment; 8. Conduct piracy or armed robbery; 9. Conduct other unlawful activities under Vietnamese laws and international law. Article 38. Ban of illegal stockpiling, use or trafficking of weapons, explosives and toxic substances While operating in the maritime zones of Vietnam, vessels, organizations, individuals are not allowed to stockpile, use, illicitly traffic in weapons or explosives, toxic substances or other means and equipment that may cause harm to the people, natural resources and maritime environment pollution. Article 39. Ban of trafficking in persons, unlawful trafficking, transporting, or stockpiling of narcotics 1. While operating in the maritime zones of Vietnam, vessels, organizations and individuals are not allowed to engage in traffic in person, or illicit transport, stockpile of or traffic in narcotics; 2. When there is ground that vessels, organizations or individuals are trafficking in person or illicitly transporting, stockpiling or trafficking in narcotics, the Vietnamese sea patrol and surveillance forces are entitled to conduct search, check, arrest, or to escort them to a port, station or dock in Vietnam, or to escort or transfer them to a port, station or dock abroad in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese laws or international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party.

178  Appendix 3 Article 40. Ban of illegal broadcasting While operating in the maritime zones of Vietnam, vessels, organizations and individuals are not allowed to conduct illegal broadcasting or propaganda prejudicial to the defence and security of Vietnam. Article 41. The right of hot pursuit 1. Sea patrol and surveillance forces are entitled to conduct hot pursuit of foreign vessels which violate the Vietnamese laws and regulations, if such vessels are in the internal waters, territorial sea and contiguous zone of Vietnam. The right of hot pursuit is conducted after the patrol and surveillance forces have transmitted signals requesting the violating vessel or suspected violating vessel to stop for inspection and such vessel does not cooperate. The hot pursuit may be continued outside the territorial sea or contiguous zone of Vietnam if the pursuit has not been interrupted. 2. The right of hot pursuit is also applied to acts of violation of the sovereign rights or jurisdiction of Vietnam and acts of violation within the safety zones of and on artificial islands, installations or structures in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam. 3. The hot pursuit of Vietnamese patrol and surveillance forces terminates when the chased vessel enters the territorial sea of another state.

Chapter IV Maritime economic development Article 42. Principles of maritime economic development Maritime economy shall be developed in a sustainable and effective manner according to the following principles: 1. Serving national socio-economic development; 2. Staying attuned to the protection of state sovereignty, national defence, security, and safety and order in the sea; 3. Meeting the need to manage marine natural resources and protect the marine environment; 4. Promoting the socio-economic development of coastal localities and islands. Article 43. Development of maritime economic industries The State shall give priority to developing the following maritime economic industries: 1. Survey, exploration, exploitation, and processing of oil, gas, minerals and other maritime resources; 2. Maritime transportation, seaport, building and repair of ships, vessels, and maritime vehicles, and other maritime services;

Appendix 3  179 3. Maritime tourism and island economy; 4. Exploitation, farming and processing of fishery products; 5. Research, development, application, and transfer of science and technology for resource exploitation and maritime economic development; 6. Building and development of maritime human resources. Article 44. Planning for maritime economic development 1. The planning of maritime economic development shall be based on: a. National strategy and master plan for socio-economic development; national strategy for environmental protection; b. Guidelines for a sustainable development strategy and maritime strategy; c. Geographic locations and features and natural characteristics or maritime zones, coastal areas and islands; d. Survey results on maritime resources and environment; reports on current use and estimates of demand for maritime resource exploitation and maritime environmental protection for the country, each region and each coastal province or centrally directed city; e. Estimated values of natural resources and vulnerability of the maritime environment; f. Resources needed for implementing the planning. 2. Planning for maritime economic development shall include: a. Analysing and evaluating natural and socio-economic conditions and current state of maritime resources exploitation and use; b. Identifying directions, objectives and guidelines for reasonable use of resources and maritime environmental protection; c. Dividing maritime zones for the purpose of socio-economic development, national defence, security; identifying areas under exploitation ban or conditional exploitation, areas under special protection for the purpose of national defence, security, environmental protection, and preservation of ecosystem, artificial islands, facilities and projects at sea; d. Identifying locations, areas and map of areas where the sea surface, the seabed and islands are being used and developed; e. Identifying specifically vulnerable coastal areas, such as alluvial ground, eroding areas, protective forests, submerged land, coastal sand; identifying buffer zones and anticipating appropriate measures for management and protection; f. Proposing solutions and road map for implementing plans. 3. The Government shall develop overall plans for developing maritime economic industries as stipulated in Article 43 of this Law and oversee the development of the national plan for sea exploitation to be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and adoption.

180  Appendix 3 Article 45. Building and development of maritime economy 1. The State shall develop investment policies in building and developing coastal economic zones and industrial clusters, developing the economy of island districts as planned to ensure effectiveness and sustainable development. 2. The assignment of certain sea areas to organizations and individuals for marine resources exploitation shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the Government. Article 46. Incentives and investment preferentials for economic development of island and maritime economic activities 1. The State shall give priority to investment for infrastructure, networks of maritime logistics, and economic development in island districts and have preferential policies to improve the material and cultural life of island residents. 2. The State shall provide preferentials and incentives in terms of tax and credits and create favourable conditions for organizations and individuals to invest in exploiting the development potentials and advantages of the islands. 3. The States shall provide preferential and incentives in terms of tax and credits and create favourable conditions for organizations and individuals to develop fisheries and other economic activities in the sea and on islands; protect people’s activities in the sea and on islands. 4. The Government shall stipulate in details regulations to fulfill this Article.

Chapter V Sea patrol and surveillance Article 47. Sea patrol and surveillance forces 1. Sea patrol and surveillance forces shall include competent forces under the People’s Army, the People’s Police, and other specialized patrol and surveillance forces. 2. Militia and civil defence forces of coastal provinces and cities under central administration, guards of agencies and organizations located in coastal areas and other forces shall have the responsibility to participate in sea patrol and surveillance when requested by the competent agencies. Article 48. Duties and scope of responsibility of sea patrol and surveillance. The patrol and surveillance forces shall have the following duties: a. Protect the sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction and national interest in the areas of Vietnamese sea and islands; b. Ensure the observance of Vietnamese law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party;

Appendix 3  181 c. Protect state assets, marine natural resources and environment; d. Protect, assist, search and rescue persons and vessels operating in the Vietnamese maritime zones and island areas; e. Deal with unlawful acts in the maritime zones and island areas of Vietnam in accordance with Vietnamese law. 1. Specific scope of responsibility of sea patrol and surveillance shall be stipulated in accordance with the provisions of the law. 2. The State shall ensure necessary conditions for sea patrol and surveillance forces to fulfill their assigned tasks. Article 49. Flag, uniform and badge When on duty, vessels of the sea patrol and surveillance forces shall be provided with sufficient Vietnamese national flags, number signs and pennants; sea patrol and surveillance personnel shall be provided with military uniforms, uniforms of the forces and other typical signs in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Chapter VI Handling of violations Article 50. Escorting and location for settlement of violations 1. Pursuant to the provisions of the law, depending on the nature and degree of violation, the sea patrol and surveillance forces shall decide to address the violation on site or escort violating persons and vessels ashore or request competent agency of the flag state or the vessel’s destination country to deal with the violation. 2. When escorting ashore for settlement, the violating persons and vessels shall be escorted to the nearest port, station or dock in the list of ports, stations or shelters announced by the competent agency of Vietnam in accordance with the provisions of the law. In case for the safety of life and property of persons on board, the patrol and surveillance forces may decide to escort the violating persons and vessels to the nearest port, station or dock of Vietnam or other countries in accordance with the provisions of the law. Article 51. Preventive measures 1. Persons with unlawful acts may be arrested, temporarily held in custody or temporarily detained; the vessels used for the unlawful acts can be temporarily held in custody for the purpose of preventing unlawful acts or to ensure the law enforcement.

182  Appendix 3 2. Arrest, temporarily holdings in custody, or temporary detention of persons with unlawful acts and temporary holdings of vessels shall be made in accordance with the law. Article 52. Notice to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs When arresting, temporarily holding in custody, temporarily detaining persons with unlawful acts or temporarily holding in custody foreign vessels, the sea patrol and surveillance forces or competent state agencies shall have the responsibility to give notice to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for coordination. Article 53. Handling of violations Agencies, organizations or individuals with unlawful acts, depending on the nature and levels, shall be dealt with by disciplining, administrative fines, being required to pay compensation in case of causing damage in accordance with the provisions of the law; the violating persons may be criminally prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Chapter VII Implementation provisions Article 54. Entry into effect This Law shall take effect on 1 January 2013. Article 55. Guidance of implementation The Government shall stipulate in details and provide guidance for the implementation of the provisions that have been defined in this Law. This Law was adopted by the 13th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the 3rd Session on 21 June 2012. Chairman of the National Assembly (signed) Nguyen Sinh Hung Source: http://vietnamnews.vn/politics-laws/228456/the-law-of-the-sea-of-vietnam.html

Index

abalones 10, 19 Abrégé de géographie (Balbi) 22 Administration Delegation Crescent 95 Administrative Delegation Amphitrite 95 Ainan see Hainan Island Alerte (gunboat) 93 Alexandra Bank 111, 143 Amboyna Cay Island 94, 108, 137, 140, 158 Âm Linh temple 75 Âm Linh tự see Âm Linh temple Annales de la Faculté des sciences (Fontaine and Văn Hội) 104 Ao Văn Trâm 153 architectonia perspectiva 80 ASEAN see Association of South East Asian Nations Association of South East Asian Nations 5, 112 – 114; Code of Conduct 112 – 114; Declaration on Code of Conduct 112 – 113; Summit Conference (November 4, 2002) 112; Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South East Asia (1976) 112 babylonia areolata 9, 103 Bắc Hải area see Trường Sa Bắc Hải team 10, 14, 17, 19, 73 – 74, 76, 81 – 82, 114; benefits 10, 19, 81; membership/recruitment 10, 81; mission 10; sea products collected 19, 81; things collected from shipwrecks 10, 19 Bãi Cát Vàng see Hoàng Sa Bản An hamlet 153 Bàn Than Thạch 16 – 17, 20 Bảo Đại see Emperor Bảo Đại (1926–1945) Bà Rịa province 94, 137, 158

Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu province 98, 102 Bến Ván see Bình Sơn district Big Bear (oil well) 106 Bình Định province 15, 17, 44 – 46, 50, 52, 61, 63, 65 – 66, 85 – 86, 88 Bình Dương district 12, 70 Bình Sơn district 8 – 9, 20, 30, 39, 70, 82, 153 Bình Thuận province 10 – 11, 19, 21, 67, 102 black-painted ship see thuyền ô Bố Chánh sứ Quảng Ngãi 38, 47, 53, 145, 153 Bombay Reef 136 Brévié, Jules 137, 161 – 162 British East India Company 60, 67 Buddhist Temple Mountain 16 – 17 calophyllum inophyllum 79, 104 Cam Ranh Bay 96, 102 canons (collected from shipwrecks) 12, 80, 133 – 134 cartographers 15 – 16, 40, 42, 44 – 46, 51, 53, 58, 63, 65 – 66, 85, 145 Cát Vàng see Hoàng Sa Chaigneau, J.B. see Chaigneau, JeanBaptiste Chaigneau, Jean-Baptiste 21, 26 – 27, 51, 85, 134 Chàm Island 60, 79 châu bản 2, 3, 5, 35 – 39, 42 – 43, 45 – 47, 49, 51, 57, 69, 114, 116 – 117, 145 – 157; dated Minh Mạng reign 36 – 39, 42 – 43, 45 – 47, 145 – 157; dated Thiệu Trị reign 49, 53; submitted by Án Sát Quảng Ngãi 38, 153; submitted by Bố Chánh sứ Quảng Ngãi 38, 47, 145, 153; submitted by Commander of Đà Nẵng Seaport 36; submitted by Ministry of Finance 43;

184 Index submitted by Ministry of Public Works 42 – 43, 45 – 46, 49; submitted by Nội các 37 – 39, 145 Chinese invasion of Paracel Islands (January 1974) 103, 106 – 107 Chinese invasion of Spratly Islands (January–April 1988) 110 – 111, 143 chữ Nôm see Nôm characters Chương Nghĩa district 10, 48 Chư phiên chí 56 Chư phiên đồ 56 Colin Reef 111 conches 9 Côn Lôn island 10, 14, 17, 19, 76, 81, 108 continental shelf of Vietnam 99, 103, 106, 111, 141, 143, 168; description 106; geographical position 111; legal status of 168; oil and gas exploration and production 106, 115, 143; oil and gas reserves 106; oil and gas wells 106 Cồn Vàng see Hoàng Sa Cuarteron Reef 110 – 111, 143 Cù lao Chàm see Chàm Island Cù lao Ré see Ré Island Đại Chiêm estuary 10 – 11 Đại Mao Hải Ba team 82 Đại Minh nhất thống chí 7, 20, 55, 72 – 73 Đại Nam nhất thống chí 5, 8, 11, 17 – 18, 33, 54, 69 – 70, 73, 81, 87, 92, 136 Đại Nam nhất thống toàn đồ 66 Đại Nam thực lục chính biên 2 – 3, 8, 14, 18, 32, 54, 63 – 65, 69, 72, 83 – 88, 104 Đại Nam thực lục tiền biên 2 – 3, 8, 13 – 14, 18, 32, 62, 71 – 73, 81 Đại Thanh đế quốc 55 Đại Thanh đế quốc toàn đồ 55 Đại Thanh đế quốc vị trí khu hoạch đồ 55 Đại Thanh trực tỉnh toàn đồ 55 Đại Trường Sa see Trường Sa Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư 30 Đại Việt sử ký tục biên 2 – 3, 8, 18, 30, 134 Đặng Đức Thiêm 47, 53, 145 Đặng Văn Xiểm 39, 153 Đặng Xuân Bản 20 Đất Đỏ district 98, 140 Dayot, Félix 63 Dayot, Jean Marie 27, 29, 51, 63 Decree-Law no. 10 (1938) 95, 116, 158 Decree-Law no. 143/NV (October 22, 1956) 98, 117 Decree-Law no. 174/NV (July 13, 1961) 98, 117

Decree-Law no. 3282 (May 5, 1939) 95, 160 – 162 Decree-Law no. 4762-CP (December 21, 1933) 158 Decree no. 156-SC (June 15, 1932) 95, 119 Decree no. 420-BNV/HĐCP/26 (September 6, 1973) 117 Decree no. 709-BNV/HĐCP/26 (October 21, 1969) 117 Delegation Amphitrite administrative unit 162 Delegation Crescent administrative unit 162 Democratic Republic of Vietnam 96 – 97, 99, 108, 138 Địa dư chí 70 Dictionarium Latino-Anamiticum (Taberd) 4, 61, 135 Định Hải village 140 Discovery Reef 9 Đoàn Sa Islands see Trường Sa Đỗ Bá Công Đạo 10, 18, 31, 54, 60, 133 D’Ochilie (French merchant ship owner) 36 đội Bắc Hải see Bắc Hải team đội Đại Mao Hải Ba see Đại Mao Hải Ba team đội Hoàng Sa see Hoàng Sa team đồi mồi see eretmochelys imbricata đội Quế Hương see Quế Hương team đội Quế Hương Hàm see Quế Hương Hàm team dolphins 81 Đông Hải see South China Sea Đông hành thi thuyết thảo 7 Đông Sa 89 – 90 đồn ngư see dolphins Dragon (oil well) 106 Drummond Island 139 Dư địa chí 12 – 13, 32, 54, 72, 79 Dư dịa đồ 55 Duncan Island 107, 139 Dương Văn Định 153 Dutch East India Company 60, 80 Du Trường village see Ré Island Duy Tân see Emperor Duy Tân (1907–1916) Eastern Sandbanks see Đông Sa East Lệ Thủy 153 East Sea see South China Sea Economic-Scientific-Services Zone 111, 143

Index  185 EEZ of Vietnam see exclusive economic zone of Vietnam Eldad Reef 112, 143 elephant-ear cochleae 9, 80, 103 Emperor Bảo Đại (1926–1945) 95, 97, 101, 137 – 138, 158 – 159 Emperor Cảnh Thịnh (1792–1802) 83 Emperor Đồng Khánh (1886–1888) 91 Emperor Duy Tân (1907–1916) 54 Emperor Gia Long (1802–1819) 2, 7, 14, 17, 19 – 22, 25 – 27, 51, 63, 66, 72 – 75, 80, 83 – 84, 90, 92, 114, 134 Emperor Hiến Minh see Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu (1691–1725) Emperor Khải Định (1916–1925) 32, 91 Emperor Lê Hiển Tông (1740–1786) 8 Emperor Lê Thánh Tông (1460–1497) 12 Emperor Minh Mạng (1820–1840) 2, 7, 12 – 17, 19 – 20, 35 – 39, 42 – 43, 45 – 47, 50 – 52, 63 – 66, 69, 80, 84 – 88, 90, 92, 104, 114, 134 – 135, 145 – 157 Emperor Nguyễn Nhạc (1778–1788) 11 – 12, 19, 72, 82 Emperor Quang Trung (1788–1792) 2 Emperor Thiệu Trị (1841–1847) 7, 16, 35, 49 – 51, 53, 64, 69, 80, 85, 90, 114, 135 Emperor Tự Đức (1848–1883) 50, 53, 72, 84, 114 Eo estuary see Tư Hiền estuary eretmochelys imbricata 9, 11 – 12, 19, 80, 82, 103, 133 exclusive economic zone of Vietnam 103, 167 – 168 Fiery Cross Reef 110 – 111, 143 firearms and ammunition (collected from shipwrecks) 11 – 12, 19, 29, 80, 82 Fort of Bình Định see Bình Định province Fort of Quy Nhơn see Bình Định province French colonial administration 88 – 97, 136 – 137 Gaven Reef 111, 143 Geneva Accord (1954) 97, 139 Gia Long see Emperor Gia Long (1802–1819) giám thành see cartographers Giao Châu dị vật chí 56 Giao Chỉ Dương see Gulf of Tonkin Giao Dương see Gulf of Tonkin gold and silver (collected from shipwrecks) 9 – 12, 19, 29, 80, 82, 133

Government of Guangdong 1, 7, 90 – 91, 135 – 136 Governor-General of Indochina 91 – 92, 94 – 95, 137, 160 Governor of Cochinchina 92, 94, 137, 158 Governor of Nam Kỳ see Governor of Cochinchina Grainger Bank 111, 143 Guangdong province 55, 79, 133 Guangzhou 89 – 90, 109, 111 Gulf of Tonkin 56, 103 hải ba see small sea turtles Hainan administrative zone 110 Hainan Island 10, 23, 27, 56, 60 – 61, 67, 75 – 76, 89 – 91, 104, 110, 133 – 136 Hainan province 111, 143 Hải ngoại ký sự 3, 29, 71, 133 hải sâm see sea cucumbers An Hải village 18 – 19, 30, 70, 76, 153 An Hải ward 153 Hà Liễu 11, 19, 82 – 83, 134 Hàn Chấn Hoa 34, 89 Hà Tiên area 10, 14, 19, 81 Hà Tiên province 67, 76 hawksbill sea turtle see eretmochelys imbricata Hòa Long village 140 Hoàng Minh chức phương địa đồ 55 Hoàng Minh đại thống nhất tổng đồ 55 Hoàng Sa 1 – 19, 21 – 22, 25, 29, 35 – 38, 43, 50, 54 – 55, 60, 63, 67 – 69, 73, 88 – 94, 96 – 99, 101 – 110, 114, 158 – 159; description 14, 16, 18, 20, 25, 29, 46, 59, 102, 134, 137 – 143, 145; distance from the shore 102; fauna and flora 8, 9, 16, 18, 20, 103 – 104, 115; geographical position 23, 25 – 26, 61, 94 – 95, 102; shipwrecks 10, 19, 21, 28 – 30, 36, 61, 80, 102, 133 – 134; strategic importance of 50 – 52, 60, 69, 91, 105; weather conditions 9 – 10, 15, 29 – 30, 45 – 46, 51, 53, 73, 102 – 103 Hoàng Sa district 95, 109 Hoàng Sa, lãnh thổ Việt Nam Cộng Hòa 117 Hoàng Sa militia see Hoàng Sa team Hoàng Sa shrine 2, 5, 75, 88 Hoàng Sa team 3 – 5, 7 – 14, 19, 30, 38, 42 – 43, 45 – 46, 54, 62, 65, 70 – 72, 74 – 77, 79 – 84, 92, 114, 133 – 134; anti-piracy activities 83; benefits 47, 53, 77, 80, 145; burial at sea 77;

186 Index

Kát Vàng see Hoàng Sa Khâm định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ 2 – 3, 5, 50, 63, 65, 69, 84, 104 Khánh Hòa province 67, 102, 105, 108 kiền kiền (wood) see stone hopea Kim cổ dư đồ 55 Krautheimer, M.J. 94, 137, 158 Krempt, M.A. 91 – 92, 136

Islands between the United States and the Netherlands 1 Lăng Thánh 75 Lansdowne Reef 111 Law of the Sea of Vietnam see Vietnam’s Law of the Sea Lê Công Chất 117 Le Fol (French Resident) 91 – 92 Lê Hiển Tông see Emperor Lê Hiển Tông (1740–1786) Lễ khao lề thế lính Hoàng Sa 5, 14, 53, 75 – 76, 99 Le Mémoire sur la Cochinchine (Chaigneau) 21, 26 – 27, 85 Lê Quang Quỳnh 36 Lê Quý Đôn 2 – 3, 8, 12 – 13, 18, 20, 54, 70 – 71, 75, 80 – 82, 134 Lê Thánh Tông see Emperor Lê Thánh Tông (1460–1497) Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí 3, 12 – 13, 32, 54, 134 Liệt thánh thực lục tiền biên 32 Lincoln Island 136 live funeral service for the Hoàng Sa soldiers see Lễ khao lề thế lính Hoàng Sa Loaita Island 94, 137, 140, 158 Lộ phủ châu huyện đồ 55 Lord Nguyễn Hoàng (1610–1613) 12, 69 – 71 Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu (1691–1725) 10, 28 – 30, 62, 79 Lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát (1738–1765) 10, 18, 69, 134 Lord Nguyễn Phúc Lan (1635–1648) 71 – 72 Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên (1613–1635) 71 Lord Nguyễn Phúc Tần (1648–1687) 71 – 72 Lord Nguyễn Phúc Thuần (1765–1777) 32 Lord Nguyễn Phúc Trăn (1687–1691) 30 Lord Trịnh Căn (1682–1709) 31 Lord Trịnh Sâm (1767–1782) 8, 18, 134 Louisa Island 110, 143 Lý Sơn district-island 5, 11, 14, 18 – 19, 30, 38, 65, 70, 74 – 76, 82 Lý Sơn Island see Ré Island Lý Thường Kiệt (cruiser HQ-16) 106 Lý Văn Phức 7, 45, 47

La Fontaine, Henri 103 – 104 La Haye International Tribunal 1; decision on sovereignty dispute over Palmas

Macclesfield Banks 89, 94, 99 Malaysia 143 maritime zones of Vietnam 163 – 169

equipment/boats 39, 77 – 79, 86; food supply 9, 19, 77, 86; membership/ recruitment 13, 38 – 39, 52, 70, 75, 77; mission 8 – 9, 12 – 13, 17, 19, 73; planting trees 18, 104; rewards/punishments 9, 12, 16, 37 – 38, 41 – 43, 52, 64 – 65, 145; sea products collected 9, 11 – 12, 17, 19, 29, 80, 133 – 134; selection of navigators 63 – 64; surveying and measurement 14, 19, 35, 62 – 63, 65, 72 – 73, 84, 134; things collected from shipwrecks 9 – 12, 17, 19, 29 – 30, 80, 82, 133 – 134; time of year of mission 8, 11, 15, 17, 19, 45 – 46, 48, 50 – 51, 63 – 64, 72 – 73, 153; travel time to Hoàng Sa 8 – 9, 11, 13, 14 – 15, 17 – 19, 29, 73 Hoàng Sa temple see Hoàng Sa shrine Hoàng triều đại điển 49 Hoàng triều nhất thống dư địa tổng đồ 55 Hoàng triều phủ sảnh châu huyện toàn đồ 55 Hoàng triều trực tỉnh dư địa toàn đồ 55 Hoàng Việt địa dư chí 8, 12 – 13, 18, 32, 54, 72, 79 Hòa Vang district 140 Hội Đức Hầu 12, 82 Hồng Đức bản đồ 10, 31 Hồng Đức maps see Hồng Đức bản đồ hopea odorata 79 Huế 22, 26, 64, 66, 76, 80 – 81 Hughes Reef 111, 143 Hưng Hóa kí lược 13 Institute of Hán-Nôm Studies see Viện Nghiên Cứu Hán-Nôm International Conference on the Law of the Sea (1982) 103 Itu Aba Island 94 – 96, 98, 137, 158 Johnson South Reef 111, 143

Index  187 Mariveles Reef 143 Marquis of Hội Đức see Hội Đức Hầu Marquis of Phú Nhuận see Phú Nhuận Hầu Marquis of Thắng Toàn see Chaigneau, Jean-Baptiste Marquis of Thức Lượng see Thức Lượng Hầu Marquis of Thuyên Đức see Thuyên Đức Hầu metal objects (collected from shipwrecks) 9 – 10, 12, 80, 82, 133 meteorological station (Itu Aba Island) 95, 139 meteorological station (Pattle Island) 95, 138 – 139; report of 162 meteorological station (Woody Island) 95, 139 miếu Hoàng Sa see Hoàng Sa shrine Minh Mạng see Emperor Minh Mạng (1820–1840) Mộ Cách district 153 Money Island 106, 140 morinda citrifolia L. 104 mù u (wood) see calophyllum inophyllum Nam Châu dị vật chí 56 An Nam đại quốc họa đồ 4, 61, 67 Nam Hải see South China Sea Nam Ngãi province 95, 137, 158 Nam Sa 55 – 56, 89, 99, 109 – 111, 133 – 136, 141 An Nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư 18 Nam Việt địa dư 92 Namyit Island 108 National Institute of Historical Research of Nguyễn Dynasty see Quốc Sử Quán Triều Nguyễn Ngã quốc Nam Hải chư đảo sử liệu hội biên 34, 89 Ngoại La see Ré Island Ngô Kính Vinh 90 Ngô Phương Bân 34 Nguyễn Ánh 20, 22, 27, 29, 63, 83 – 84 Nguyễn Dynasty 2, 4, 5, 7, 12 – 13, 18 – 19, 22, 26, 30, 35, 64, 66, 69, 71, 75, 81, 83, 88, 134 Nguyễn Dynasty’s Ministry of Finance 35, 39, 43 Nguyễn Dynasty’s Ministry of Justice 40, 52 Nguyễn Dynasty’s Ministry of National Defense 37, 52, 153

Nguyễn Dynasty’s Ministry of Public Works 15 – 16, 35, 40, 42 – 43, 45 – 47, 49, 52 – 53, 63 – 66, 69, 85 – 88, 134 – 135, 145 Nguyễn Dynasty’s Royal Navy 2 – 5, 14 – 15, 17, 26, 44 – 46, 49 – 51, 64 – 65, 72, 80, 84 – 88, 134, 153; constructing temples and shrines 4 – 5, 15 – 17, 19, 50, 88, 134 – 135; digging wells 5, 19; equipment/boats 86; erecting sovereignty steles 2, 4 – 5, 15 – 17, 19, 22, 50, 85, 87; food supply 86; map drawing 15 – 17, 19 – 20, 35, 45 – 46, 50, 63, 66, 135; planting border markers 2, 4 – 5, 16 – 17, 19 – 20, 22, 35, 42, 45, 52, 85 – 87, 134 – 135; planting trees 4 – 5, 15, 19, 88, 104, 134; rewards/ punishments 44 – 45, 52 – 53, 65, 86; surveying and measurements 14 – 17, 19 – 20, 35, 46, 50, 63, 66, 85, 135, 153; suspension of mission 49, 53, 64; things collected 17, 22 Nguyễn Dynasty’s Topographical Bureau 85 – 86 Nguyễn Hạp 79 Nguyễn Hoàng see Lord Nguyễn Hoàng (1610–1613) Nguyễn Lords 3, 5, 7 – 11, 13, 18, 29 – 30, 60, 62, 69 – 74, 77, 82 – 83, 114, 133 Nguyễn Nhạc see Emperor Nguyễn Nhạc (1778–1788) Nguyễn Phúc Chu see Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu (1691–1725) Nguyễn Phúc Khoát see Lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát (1738–1765) Nguyễn Phúc Lan see Lord Nguyễn Phúc Lan (1635–1648) Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên see Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên (1613–1635) Nguyễn Phúc Tần see Lord Nguyễn Phúc Tần (1648–1687) Nguyễn Phúc Trăn see Lord Nguyễn Phúc Trăn (1687–1691) Nguyễn Thông 18, 20, 33, 70, 72, 76, 84, 88, 104 Nguyễn Văn Doanh 153 Nguyễn Văn Hoằng 41 – 42, 53, 65 – 66, 145 Nguyễn Văn Mạnh 153 Nguyễn Văn Thắng see Chaigneau, Jean-Baptiste Nguyễn Văn Tiệm see Nguyễn Văn Tiến Nguyễn Văn Tiến 41 – 43, 65 – 66, 145

188 Index Ngụy Văn Thà 107 Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography 91 – 92, 94, 136 Nhật Tảo (corvette HQ-10) 106 – 107 Nishizawa Island 89 nobody’s property see res nullius Nội các 37, 40, 50, 52, 57 – 58, 145 Nội phủ địa đồ 55 Nôm characters 2 North Danger Reef 94 Northeast Cay Island 140, 158 North Island 136 North Sea Team see Hoàng Sa team ốc hoa see architectonia perspectiva ốc tai voi see elephant-ear cochleae ốc xà cừ see turbininae OMM see Organisation météorologique mondiale Organisation météorologique mondiale (OMM) 100, 109 Palawan Island 103 Paracel Islands see Hoàng Sa Paracels see Hoàng Sa Parcel see Hoàng Sa Patenôtre Treaty (1884) 89, 91, 93, 97 Pattle Island 95 – 97, 137 – 138, 140, 162 People’s Republic of China 97, 106 – 107, 138 – 139 Pescadores islands 102 Phạm Hữu Nhật 16, 20, 43, 86 – 87, 135 Phạm Quanh Ảnh 14, 19, 63, 70, 75, 84 – 85, 134 Phạm Quỳnh 159 Phạm Văn Biện 44 – 45, 65, 87 Phạm Văn Nguyên 15, 41, 42, 52, 65, 87 – 88, 135, 145 Phạm Văn Sênh 37, 41 – 42, 44 – 46, 52, 65, 145 Phạm Vị Thanh 153 Phan Huy Chú 2, 12 – 13, 20, 32, 54, 70, 134 Phật Tự Sơn see Buddhist Temple Mountain Philippines, the 138 – 139 Phủ biên tạp lục 3, 8, 10 – 14, 18, 54, 70 – 75, 79 – 82, 133 – 134 Phù Nam truyện 56 Phú Nhuận Hầu 74, 83 Phước Hải village 140 Phước Tuy province 4, 98, 106, 140 Phú Quốc Island 67, 102, 108

Phú Xuân 8 – 9, 13, 27 – 28, 71 Poulo-Condor island see Côn Lôn island Pracel see Hoàng Sa Pratas Islands 89, 100 Prince Consort Bank 111, 143 Prince of Wales Bank 111, 143 Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam 140 – 141 Pulo Campello see Chàm Island Pulo Canton see Ré Island Pulo Pracela see Hoàng Sa Qing Dynasty 55 – 56, 83, 91 Quảng Đông dư địa toàn đồ 55 Quảng Đông tỉnh đồ 55 Quảng dư đồ 55 Quảng Nam – Đà Nẳng province 109 Quảng Nam province 4, 8, 11 – 14, 40, 54, 66, 70 – 71, 82 – 83, 98, 102, 134, 140 Quảng Ngãi province 4 – 5, 8 – 11, 15 – 16, 20, 30, 38, 43, 44 – 46, 50, 52, 54, 60, 63 – 66, 69, 72, 74, 81 – 82, 85 – 86, 88, 102, 145 Quảng Nghĩa province see Quảng Ngãi province Quế Hương Hàm team 82 Quế Hương team 11, 82 Quốc Oai greater district 32 Quốc Sử Quán Triều Nguyễn 16 – 17, 19, 54, 69 – 70 Quốc triều chính biên toát yếu 16, 19, 32 Quốc triều chính điển lục 49 Quốc triều hội điển 49 Quỳnh Châu Island see Hainan Island red-marked royally-reviewed records see châu bản Ré Island 8, 11, 14, 18 – 19, 30, 54, 68, 70, 72 – 77, 79, 82 – 84, 102 – 103, 134 Republic of Vietnam 98, 99, 107 – 108, 117, 139 – 140 requirements for territorial sovereignty 1 res nullius 1 Robert Island 106, 139 – 140 sacred mausoleum see Lăng Thánh Sa Kỳ estuary 10 – 11, 70, 74 – 75, 79, 82 Sa Kỳ seaport 14, 17, 19, 72, 74, 83 Sand Cay Island 108 San Francisco International Conference (1951) 4, 97, 101, 105, 115, 139 sao (wood) see hopea odorata Án Sát of the Province of Quảng Ngãi 153

Index  189 sea cucumbers 9 – 10, 19, 80, 103 Sea of Champa see South China Sea Sea of China see South China Sea Sea of Giao Chỉ see Gulf of Tonkin sea turtles 9 – 10, 19, 103 Sin Cowe Island 108, 111 small sea turtles 9, 11, 19, 80, 82 Socialist Republic of Vietnam 99, 108, 141 South China Sea 5, 59, 73 – 74, 76, 81 – 83, 94, 101 – 102, 109 – 110, 112 – 113, 158; depth 103; importance 5, 105; international flights 105; international seaways 105; marine traffic 105; oil and gas exploration and exploitation 105; sea currents 21, 103; storms 103 – 104; surface level 102; weather conditions 21, 103; wind directions 103 South East Asia 89, 96, 105 South Sea see South China Sea Southwest Cay Island 108, 140, 158 Spratlies see Trường Sa Spratly Island 108, 137, 140, 158 Spratly Islands see Trường Sa stone hopea 79 Storm Islands see Trường Sa striped cochlea 9 Strip of Yellow Sands see Hoàng Sa Subi Reef 111, 143 Sử học bị khảo 20 Suinan see Yunnan Taberd, Jean-Louis 4, 21, 25, 61, 85, 92, 135 Tạp chí Sử Địa 28, 115 Tạp chí Xưa và Nay 116 – 117 Tây Sa 55 – 56, 89, 91, 99, 109 – 110, 133 – 136, 141 Tây Sa đảo, Đông Sa đảo thành an hội biên 90 Tây Sơn Dynasty 2, 5, 7 – 8, 11 – 12, 18 – 19, 27, 70, 82 – 84, 134 Tây Sơn uprising 72, 82 terminalia catappa 104 Thạch Ốc An Thạch village 153 Thái Đức see Emperor Nguyễn Nhạc (1778–1788) Thân Trọng Huề 136 Thích Đại Sán 3, 29 – 30, 33, 77, 79, 133 Thiên hạ bản đồ 10, 31 Thiên hạ thống nhất chi đồ 55 Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư 10, 31, 54, 71 – 72

Thiệu Trị see Emperor Thiệu Trị (1841–1847) Thitu Island 94, 137, 158 Thuận An estuary 31, 51, 85 Thuận Hóa Quảng Nam địa đồ nhật trình 62 Thừa Thiên province 76, 95, 98, 102, 137, 158, 162 Thức Lượng Hầu 10 Thuyên Đức Hầu 9, 80 thuyền ô 50, 63, 86 Tiên Bích Sa Island see Chàm Island Toàn tập An Nam lộ đồ 10, 31, 72, 133 Toàn tập An Nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư 31 Toàn tập Thiên nam tứ chí lộ đồ thư 60, 62, 70, 80, 133 Tonkin Phosphate Company 92 Trần Bình Trong (cruiser HQ-5) 106 trắng bông see small sea turtles Trần Khánh Dư (destroyer HQ-4) 106 Trần Văn Hữu 4, 101, 115, 117, 139 Trần Văn Kham 153 Trần Văn Lắm 140 Trần Văn Lê 153 Trần Văn Vân 41 – 42, 53, 65 – 66, 145 Trịnh Lords 8, 11, 18 Trịnh Sâm see Lord Trịnh Sâm (1767–1782) Triton Island 102, 136 trò chỉ (wood) see hopea odorata Trù Biện Tây Sa Đảo Sự Vụ Xứ 90 Trung Quốc cương giới biến thiên đồ 56 Trung Quốc địa lý giáo khoa thư 89 Trung Sa see Trường Sa Trương Nhân Tuấn 55, 90 – 91 Trương Phúc Sĩ 135 Trường Sa 1 – 8, 14, 16 – 17, 19, 21, 35, 38, 54 – 55, 62 – 63, 67 – 69, 73, 76, 88 – 89, 92 – 94, 96 – 99, 101 – 106, 108 – 112, 114 – 115, 133, 137 – 143, 158; description 102, 134; distance from the shore 102; fauna and flora 103, 115; geographical position 93; shipwrecks 10; things collected 10, 133 Trường Sa district 109 Trương Văn Tài 153 Tứ Chính village 10, 14, 19, 81 Tự Đức see Emperor Tự Đức (1848–1883) Tư Hiền estuary 9, 13, 17, 67, 71 – 72 Tư Nghĩa district 12 – 13, 48, 70, 134 turbininae 9, 80 UN see United Nations UN Charter see United Nations Charter

190 Index UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1974) see United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) see United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea United Nations 111 United Nations Charter 112, 170 United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea: 1974 108; 1982 5, 112, 114 – 115, 164 United Nations International Tribunal 1; decision on sovereignty dispute over Minquiers and Écrehous Islands between England and France 1 United Nations Security Council 107 – 108 UN Security Council see United Nations Security Council Vạn An islets 111 Vanguard Bank 103, 111, 143 Vạn lý Ba Bình 16 – 18, 20, 87 Vạn Lý Thạch Đường see Trường Sa Vạn Lý Trường Sa see Trường Sa Vạn Nhã islets 111 Văn tịch chí 13 Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie see Dutch East India Company Viện Nghiên Cứu Hán Nôm 10, 30 – 31 Vietnam’s Law of the Sea 102, 114; full text of 163 – 182 Việt sử cương giám khảo lược 17, 70, 72, 76, 84, 88, 104

An Vĩnh village 8 – 10, 13 – 14, 18 – 19, 30, 65, 70, 73 – 76, 82, 134 An Vĩnh ward 153 V.O.C. see Dutch East India Company Võ Văn Phú 14, 19, 72, 74, 83 Vuladdore Reef 95, 162 Vũ Văn Hùng 39, 41 – 42, 44 – 45, 47, 53, 65, 145, 153 Vũ Văn Mẫu 4, 98 Vũ Văn Nội 153 Wallacca 103 Wallace, Alfred Russell 103 Western missionary accounts 59 Western navigator and explorer accounts 4, 59 – 61 Western trading companies 60 White Books: The Paracel and Spratly archipelagos and international laws 111, 118; Paracel and Spratly archipelagos: territory of Vietnam 109, 118; The Paracel archipelago and the Spratly archipelago: territory of Vietnam (Socialist Republic of Vietnam) 142; White Book on the Paracel and Spratly islands (Republic of Vietnam) 141 White Tiger (oil well) 106 Woody Island 95 – 97, 138, 162 World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 100 Yellow Sands see Hoàng Sa Yunnan 60, 66 – 67