15TH CENTURY

From 1405 to 1433: the Great eunuch Zheng He (Ming dynasty) carried out 7 voyages in the Indian Ocean without occupying any islands or shoals of the Paracels or the Spratly archipelagoes.

16TH CENTURY

- 1527: Spain installs a colonial regime in the Philippines.

- 1595: The Netherlands approaches the islands of the Sonde (Indonesia).

17TH CENTURY

- Creation by the Seigneurs Nguyễn of the Hoang Sa company and of the Bắc Hải section to exploit the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes on behalf of the State. The company is ordered to spend six months each year in the Hoang Sa to gather

maritime products and to recover goods of wrecked ships, for the benefit of the Seigneurs Nguyễn.

- Toàn tập thiên nam chí lộ đồ thư (Collection of Road Maps of the Southern Countries) of Đỗ Bá alias Đạo Phủ notes that the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes, then designated under the name of Bãi Cát Vàng, belonging to the Vietnamese phủ of Quang Nghia and that the Seigneurs Nguyễn each year sent there the state company Hoang Sa for control and exploitation purposes.

18TH CENTURY

- 1701: The French missionaries go to China on board the Amphitrite and write in a letter: "The Paracel is an archipelago dependent on the Annam Empire".

- October 1714: Three sailboats of the Netherlands sink in the Hoang Sa (Paracels). Guided by Vietnamese fishermen, the survivors return to South Vietnam in rafts and present themselves to the Seigneur Nguyen. They are given shelter and food pending their return home.

- 1731: On the maps of the province of Guangdong and of the prefecture of Qiongzhou (island of Hainan) published in the Guangdong Tong Zhi (Geography of Guangdong) written in 1731, under the direction of He Yulin, Governor of  Guangdong, neither the Xisha (Hoang Sa) nor the Nansha (Truong Sa) archipelago

is found.

- 1739: The Minh Shi (History of the Ming), volumes 40 and 45, speak of the Chinese national territory and that of Qiongzhou (island of Hainan), with no mention of the Xisha and Nansha archipelagoes.

- 1753: The junk of the Hoang Sa company is blown by a tempest to the port of Quanglan (island of Hainan) and returned later by the Chinese authorities to the Chief-mandarin of Thuan Hoa (Hue). The latter addressed a letter of thanks to the Chinese authorities of Hainan.

- 1758-1768: French Admiral Charles Hector Theodat, count d'Estaing, writes in his Mémoire pour une enterprise, sur la Cochinchine proposée à De Mangon (Memoirs on an Enterprise in Cochinchina Proposed to De Mangon) that he met with the boats

of the Seigneurs Nguyễn patrolling in the area of the Paracels and as far as Hue, there were 400 guns coming from the wrecks on the shoals of the Paracels.

- 1776: Le Quy Don gives in his book Phủ biên tạp lục a detailed description of the Hoang Sa and Trường Sa archipelagoes and of the Hoang Sa company, indicating that the said archipelagoes belong to the province of Quảng Nghĩa.

- 1784: In the Chinese book of geography Da Quing Yi Tong Zhi (Geography of Unified Da Qing) written by the Beaureau of Annals of the Court of the Qing, the map Huangyu Quantu (General Map of the Imperial Territory), vol.1, stops at level of

the island of Hainan.

- 1786: An order of mission of the Tây Sơn dispatches the marquis Hội Đức of the Hoang Sa company to lead 4 junks to Hoang Sa to gather golden, silver and copper objects and the guns of large and small caliber, as well as maritime products.

- 1787-1788: The Kergariou-Locmaria mission explicitly defines the position of the Hoang Sa (Paracels) as separate from the Trường Sa archipelago (Spratly), at 500 km to the South.

19TH CENTURY

- 1802: Emperor Gia Long founds the Nguyễn dynasty.

- 1805: Gia Long gives orders to carry out the inventory of land of the Empire from North to South and to establish a land register, later called the Gia Long Land Register. This work is completed in 1836 (reign of Minh Mang).

- 1815: The Cai bạ Phạm Quang Ảnh is ordered to conduct Hoang Sa company to Hoang Sa to study and to draw itineraries, Emperor Gia Long confirms the sovereignty of Vietnam over the Hoang Sa.

- 1816: Naval units and Hoang Sa company units are sent to Hoang Sa for the study of itineraries.

- 1820: Jean Baptiste Chaigneau writes in his report on Cochinchina that the Hoang Sa archipelago (Paracels) belongs to this country.

- 1821: The Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí (Thematic Collection of Regulations of Succesive Dynasties) compiled by Phan Huy Chú writes that the archipelago Hoang Sa belongs to the prefecture of Tư Nghĩa (province of Quảng Nam).

- 1833: Emperor Minh Mang orders the Ministry of Republic works to prepare junks to erect in Hoang Sa a stele, a temple and to plant trees.

- 1834: Minh Mạng orders Trương Phúc Sĩ, Commander of the garrision, to go to Hoang Sa for map drawing purposes.

- 1835: Emperor Minh Mang dispatches Phạm Văn Nguyên to Hoang Sa to build a temple and a stele there.

- 1836: The Emperor sends Phạm Hữu Nhật to Hoang Sa to complete the investigation and the drawing of maps according to the precise directives of the Emperor.

- The 90 survivors of an English merchant ship wrecked by a reef in Hoang Sa managed to reach the coast of Bình Định (Central Vietnam). On order of the Emperor, assistance was given for them to return to their native country.

- 1838: The Dictionnarium Latino-annammiticum by bishop Jean Louis Taberd is published with a map entitled An Nam Đại Quốc hoạ đồ (Map of the Great Country of Annam), in which part of the Hoang Sa archipelago (Paracels) is shown in the offing of the coastal islands of Central Vietnam.

- 1842: Publication of the Chinese book Hai Lu (Writings on the Sea) in which its author Wang Pingnan affirms that the Wanlichangsha (i.e.the Paracels), constituted by the sand shoals emerging from the sea over some thousand li, serve as an enclosure outside Annam.

- 1844: In the Chinese book Zhong Wai Di Yu Tu Shu (Collection of Geographic Maps of China and of Other Countries -elaborated in 1844, 20th year of the reign of Guangzi) the map Huang Zhao Yi Tong Zong Tu (General Map of the Unified Empire) does not mention the Xisha and the Nansha; on the contrary, they are represented on the map of the countries of the South Sea.

- 1847: According to the report of the Ministry of Public Works to Emperor Thiệu Trị: "the Hoang Sa belong to our territorial waters. It is customary to send there each year war-junks to recon noitre the maritime itineraries. Considering the great volume of work, we propose that the sending of junks foreseen for this year be postponed until next year". The Emperor notes Approved:

- 1848: The map Huang Qing Yi Tong Yu, Di Quan Tu (General Map of the Qing Unified Empire) published in the book Ying Huan Zhi Lue (Brief Geography of the Globe) by Peng Wenzhang does not mention the Xisha and the Nansha archipelagoes.

- 1849: In his article Geography of the Cochinchinese Empire published in the Journal of the Geographical Society of London, Gutzlaff affirms that the King of Cochinchina maintains a fleet and a small garrison on the island Kat Vang (i.e. the Hoang Sa) to impose taxes on the fishermen operating in the region.

- 1850: Publication of the book L' Univers, histoire et description de tous les peuples, de leurs religions, moers, coutumes: Japon, Indochine, Ceylan, etc. by Dubois de Jancigny, who affirms: "For 34 years now, the Paracels archipelago designated by the inhabitants of Annam under the name of Cát Vàng (Hoang Sa) has been occupied

by Cochinchina".

- 1862: In their book Tableau de la Cochinchine (Picture of Cochinchina) E.Cortembert and Léon Rosny mention the Paracels or Kat Vang in the list of islands belonging to Vietnam.

- 1884: Vietnam and France sign the Treaty of 6th June, 1884, by which Vietnam recognizes and accepts the protectorate of France. China and France sign the preliminary Convention of 11th May, 1884 in Tientsin, by which China undertakes to respect all the treaties directly concluded or to be concluded between France and

the Court of Hue.

- 1885: On 26th February, the General Act of Berlin is signed, stipulating the criteria for the occupation of new lands in Africa, primarily for effective occupation.

- 1894: The Huang Chao Yi Tong Yu Di Zong Tu (General Map of the Unified Empire) pulished in the Huang Chao Yi Tong Yu Di Quan Tu (Atlas of the Unified Empire) by Feng Dunxiang, Meng Shouyue and Xi Naixin does not mention the Xisha and Nansha archipelagoes. In the legend, it is indicated that the southern

borders of the country of the Quing lie at Zhouya (Qiongzhouhu) island of Hainan, at 18° 13' latitude North.

- 1895-1896: the German ship Bellona and the Japanese vessel Imezi Maru transporting copper for the English wreck at the Hoang Sa and are plundered by the Chinese from Hainan. Responding to Britain's protest, the Governor of two Guang (provinces of Guangton and Guangsi) affirms that the Xisha do not belong to

China and refuses all Chinese responsibility in the affair.

- 1898: The Hispano-American Treaty of 10th December clearly defines that the Western frontier of the Philippines is at 118° longitude East, so the Philippino territory does not include any island of the Paracels and the Spratly.

- 1899: The Governor General of Indochina Paul Doumer proposes the construction of a lighthouse at the Paracels, but the project could not be executed due to lack of funds.

20TH CENTURY

- 1905: The Da Qing Di Guo Quan Tu (General Map of the Great Empire of the Qing) first edition in 1905 and 4th edition in 1910 does not mention the Xisha nor the Nansha.

- 1906: in the part Generalities of the Zhong Guo Di Li Xue Jiao Ke Shu (Manual of Geography of China), it is written: "The terminus in the South-east is the coast of Yazhou on the island of Qiongzhou, or 18° 13' latitude North".

- 1909: On 6 June, Admiral Li Zhun, ordered by the Governor of the two Guang, led three gunships to the Xisha where he landed on the island of Phú Lâm and went round others before returning to Guangzhou (Canton).

- 1910: Publication of the Đại Nam Nhất Thống Chí (Geography of the Unified Dai Nam), volume 6, which reserves two passages to the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes belonging to the province of Quảng Nghĩa.

- 1920: The French Customs begin to strengthen their patrols in the region of Hoang Sa to combat smuggling.

- 1921: On 30 March, the Provincial Authorities of Guangdong let people know that the Southern Military Government has decided to administratively lump together the Xisha with the sub-prefecture Yahien (island of Hainan). The said Government is not recognized by the Central Government nor by the Powers.

- 1925: The dispatch of a scientific mission to the Hoang Sa led by doctor A.Krempf, Director of the Oceanographic Service of Nha Trang. The same mission carries out the studies of the Truong Sa in July 1927.

- On 3 March, the Minister oi War of the Court of Huế Thân Trọng Huề affirms that the Hoang Sa have always belonged to Vietnam and. there is nothing to be discussed in that issue.

- 1927:

-The trawler De Lannessan is sent to the Truong Sa to study the atolls and the deposits of phosphate.

- The Consul General of Japan, Mr. Kurosawa, asks the French Authorities in Indochina for inquiries about the territorial status of the Spratly.

- 1928: On 19 September, the New Society of Phosphate of Tonkin (Hải Phòng) asks the Governor of Cochinchina for the authorization to exploit guano on the Truong Sa archipelago.

- 1929:

- Report dated 22 January to the Governor General of Indochina in which the Resident Superior of Annam, Le Fol, underlines the long established sovereignty of Vietnam over the Hoang Sa archipelago and recalls the statement of the Minister of War Thân Trọng Huề.

- The Perrier-Rouville mission proposes the construction of 4 lighthouses at the four corners of the Hoang Sa archipelago: at Tri Tôn, on the northern island, on the Linh Côn island, and on the Bombay reef.

- On 29 March, the Consul General of France in Manila reports to the French Minister of FA that no islands of the Truong Sa archipelago are represented on the maps edited in the Philippines.

- 1930-1933: From 13 April 1930 to 22 April 1933, units of the French naval forces successively took possession of the principal islands of Truong Sa: Truong Sa, An Bang, Ba Bình, the Cays, Loại Ta, Thị Tứ and the dependent islands.

- 1931:

- China claims the exploitation of the deposits of guano of the Hoang Sa archipelago. The French Government revendicates the islands in a Note handed to the Legation of China in Paris on 4 December, 1931.

- Expedition by the Inconstant to the Hoang Sa (in March) and by the aviso La Malicieuse (in May).

- 1932:

- On 29 April, the French Government sends to the Legation of China in Paris a Note in which it underlines the rights of France over the Paracels and proposes to China either a friendly arrange ment or a solution through arbitration.

- On 29 September, the Chinese Legation rejects the French view point and refuses to bring the affair to an arbitrated tribunal.

- On 15 June, the Governor General of Indochina creates the Administrative Delegation of the Hoang Sa.

- 1933:

- On 24 July, the French Government informs the Japanese Government of the occupation of the Truong Sa islands by French naval forces. The Japanese Government protests against this occupation.

- On 26 July, the French Ministry of FA proclaims the occupation by the French navy of the islands of the Truong Sa archipelago (Spratly): Truong Sa, An Bang, the Cays, Loại Ta, Itu Aba, Thị Tứ as well as the islets, reefs, and shoals which depend on them.

- On 21 December, the Governor of Cochinchina, J.Krautheimer puts together the Truong Sa archipelago with the province of Ba Rịa (Cochinchina). In the Zhang Guo Fen Sheng Xin Tu (New Map of Administrative Divisions of China) edited by the Yongxing Company (Shanghai), the four archipelagoes of the Bien Dong Sea (China Sea) are represented on a map supplementary to that of Guangdong province, including the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa of Vietnam under the Chinese names

of Xisha Qundao and Nansha Qundao.

- 1937:

- On 18 February, the French Ministry of FA sends to the Chinese Legation in Paris a Note in which it proposes to the Chinese Government either a friendly settlement or an arbitrated solution of the affair of the Paracels, China does not give response.

- On 28 February, the cruiser Lamotte-Piquet goes to the Hoang Sa.

- In October, principal engineer of Public Works J.Gauthier is sent to Hoang Sa to study the choice of landing places and air bases, the installation of a lighthouse on Pattle island and the conditions for the eventual installation in the Hoang Sa.

- 1938:

- On 30 March, Emperor Bao Dai joins the Hoang Sa dependent on Nam Ngải with the province of Thừa Thiên.

- On 5 June, the Governor General of Indochina creates an Administrative Delegation in the Hoang Sa.

- Erection on the island Hoang Sa (Pattle) of a stele of sovereignty for the Hoang Sa archipelago bearing the inscription: République Francaise - Royaume d'Annam -Archipel des Paracels 1816 - Ile de Pattle - 1938. (French Republic - Annam Kingdom - Paracels Archipelago 1816 - Island of Pattle - 1938).

- Construction of a lighthouse, of a meteorological station, of a wireless telegraph station on the island Hoang Sa (Hoang Sa archi pelago) and the island of Ba Bình (Trường Sa archipelago).

- Dispatch of a detachment of Vietnamese civil guards to the Hoang Sa to keep a garrison.

- 1939:

- On 31 March, the Japanese Ministry of FA proclaims the establishment of Japanese control over the Truong Sa archipelago. The French Government protests against the Japanese occupation and reaffirms the rights of France.

- On 5 April, the Under-Secretary for the Foreign Office declares at the Chamber of Communes: "The Spratly islands are situated to the West of a vast archipelago over which France exercises a full sovereignty under a decree of 1933".

- On 5 May, the Governor General of Indochina, Jules Brevie divides the archipelago into two Administrative Delegations.

- On 1 September, the Second World War breaks out.

- 1943:

- From 23 to 27 November, the Americano-Anglo-Chinese Sum mit is held in Cairo (F.D. Roosevelt, W. Churchill, Tchang Kaishek) in the Proclamation, (called the Cairo Declaration), it is said that Japan must renounce all rights, titles and pretensions regarding all the islands in the Pacific that it has occupied, and that all the Chinese territories it has occupied such as Manchuria, Formosa and the Pescadores shall be returned to the Republic of China without saying anything about the Paracels and the Spratly.

- 1945:

- 9 March, Japanese coup d'etat in Indochina.

- From 17 July to 2 August, the Postdam Conference is held (USSR, USA Great Britain), which approves the provisions of the Cairo Declaration and decides to divide the Indochinese theatre into two zones, with the 16th parallel as the demarcation line: the Republic of China receives the surrender of the Japanese forces to the North of 16th parallel, the zone south of the 16th parallel is entrusted to Great Britain.

- On 19 August, victory of the General Insurrection in Hanoi.

- On 2 September, Proclamation of the independence of Vietnam, and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam comes into being.

- Signing of the Act of Japan's surrender. Japanese troops evacuate Indochina.

- 1946:

- On 28 February, France and China sign the Treaty of Tchungking that stipulates the relief of Tchangkaishekist troops in Vietnam by French troops for the reception of surrender of the Japanese forces. On 6 March, signing of the Preliminary Accord between France and Vietnam in Hanoi stipulating that the DRVN is a free state having its government, army, parliament and finances; it is a part of the Indochinese Federation and of the French Union and France will accept the results of a referendum on the return of Cochinchina to Vietnam.

- From 20 to 27 May, the Savorgnan de Brazza reoccupies the Hoang Sa archipelago.

- On 26 June, four warships of the Tchangkaishekist regime land on the Hoang Sa and the Truong Sa under the pretext of disarming the Japanese troops, although these two archipelagoes are south of the 16th parallel, i.e. in the zone entrusted to Great Britain.

- On 11 October, the Interministerial Committee of the French Provisional Government affirms the sovereignty of France vis-à-vis the Paracels and decides to materialize it by the construction of a meteorological post in the Paracels.

- On 19 December, the war between France and Vietnamese starts.

- 1947:

- 7 January, Nankin announces the occupation of the Xisha archipelago by its troops. In reality they occupies only the Woody island.

- 17 January, the gunship Le Tonkinois of the French navy goes to the Paracels to demand that these troops leave the island. As they refuse to do so, the French troops settle themselves on the island Pattle.

- 4 July, the French Ministry of FA proposes to the Nankin Government a friendly settlement or the submission of the affair to the International Tribunal of Arbitration. China refuses again. After their defeat on the continent, the Tchangkaishekist regime

withdraws to Taiwan.

- 1949:

- In April, Prince Bửu Lộc, Chief of the Cabinet of Emperor Bảo Đại, declares in Saigon the sovereignty of Vietnam over the Hoang Sa.

- 17 May, the President of the Philippines Quirino declares that the Spratly should belong to his country, but recognizes the meteorological posts installed by France in the Paracels (the post N°48859 on the Woody island, the post N°48860 on the Pattle

island) and Spratly (the post N° 48919 on the Itu Aba island).

- 8 March, the French Government and the Bảo Đại Govern ment sign the Halong Bay Agreement returning independence to Vietnam.

- 1 October, the People's Republic of China is founded.

- 1950:

- In April, Chinese nationalist troops evacuate the Woody island.

- 14 October, the French Government officially transfers the control over the Paracels and Spratly archipelagoes to the Bảo Đại Government.

- The Zhong Hua Ren Min Gong Hua Guo Fen Sheng Jing Tu (Detailed Map of the Administrative Divisions of the PRC) edited by Peking, mentions the 4 archipelagoes of the China Sea under Chinese names and pushes the Chinese frontier down to

the 4th parallel to include almost the totality of the China Sea.

- 1951:

- 17 May, the President of the Philippines Quirino declares to the press that the Spratly archipelago belongs to the Philippines by reason of proximity.

- 19 May, Peking protests against Quirino's affirmation.

- 15 August, in a declaration regarding the draft Peace Treaty with Japan, the Chinese Minister of FA, Zhou Enlai affirms the sovereignty of China over the 4 archipelagoes of the China Sea,

- Conference of San Francisco for the signing of the Peace Treaty with Japan (September, 1951). The Vietnamese Prime Minister Trần Văn Hữu of the Bảo Đại Government solemnly declares with out meeting opposition nor reservation of the Conference that the two archipelagoes Hoang Sa (Paracels) and Truong Sa (Spratly)

have always been Vietnamese territory. Moreover, 46 of the 51 delegates reject a proposal asking the handing of the Paracels and the Spratly archipelagoes to the PRC. The Peace Treaty stipulates in Article 2 that Japan renounces all rights, titles and claims on the Paracels and Spratly archipelagoes (Hoang Sa and Truong Sa)

without saying anything about the Chinese sovereignty.

- 1952:

- 25 March, during a debate at the Assembly of the French Union, regarding the Peace Treaty of San Francisco (8 September), the Vietnamese representatives, Nguyễn Khắc Sửu and Bửu Kính recall the Paracels and the Spratly "are long since part of the territory of Vietnam". Maurice Schuman, Secretary of State for FA affirms: "It

is quite exact that the Paracels and the Spratly belong to the domain of the French Union".

24 April, Japan and Nationalist China sign the Peace Treaty in which Japan repeats exactly its undertaking regarding the Paracels and the Spratly in the San Francisco Treaty without saying anything about the Chinese sovereignty in regard to these

two archipelagoes.

- 1954:

. Signing of the Geneva Agreement (20 July) in which it is sad that Vietnam is provisionally divided into two zones with the 17th parallel as the provisional military demarcation line. The administration of the said zones is entrusted respectively to the DRVN for the North and the RVN (Republic of Vietnam) for the South.

- 28 April, the RVN relieves France in the Hoang Sa, except the oriental part of the archipelago which has been occupied by Peking troops before the arrival of Saigon troops.

- 1956:

- 8 June, the Saigon Minister for FA, Vũ Văn Mẫu, reaffirms in a statement the right to sovereignty of Vietnam over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes that has long been acquired.

- 9 June, the French Charge d'affaires in Manila informs the Philippino Government that the French Government has had possession of the Truong Sa archipelago since 1933 (following the different declarations of Manila on the "sovereignty" of the Philippines vis-a-vis the Spratly).

- 22 August, a unit of the Saigon naval forces plants the banner of the RVN and erects the stele of sovereignty on the Truong Sa island, the principal island of Truong Sa, to reaffirm the Vietnamese rights on this archipelago.

- 20 October, the Saigon administration lumps together the Triiong Sa archipelago and the province of Phước Tuy.

- 1958:

- 4 September, the Chinese Government declares the 12-mile width of the territorial sea of the PRC.

- The Prime Minister of the DRVN, Phạm Văn Đồng, sends a Note to the Peking Government expressing his support of the determination of the Chinese 12-mile-wide territorial sea.

- 1959:

- On the night of 20 - 21 February "Chinese armed fishermen" land on the islands Hữu Nhậtt, Duy Mộng and Quang Hòa, but they are fought back by the Saigon troops and 82 of them are taken prisoner.

- 1960:

- On 13 July, the Saigon Administration joins the Hoang Sa archipelago with the province of Quảng Nam and creates there a commune called Định Hải, district of Hòa Vang.

- 20 December: Founding of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF).

- 1962:

- 29 - 30 June, a section of the Saigon navy carries out investigations on the islands Song Tử Đông and Song Tử Tây of the Truong Sa archipelago.

-1963: .

- 19 - 24 May, the Saigon navy carries out investigation and creates steles of Vietnamese sovereignty on the islands Truong Sa, An Bang, Loại Ta, Song Tử Đông and Song Tử Tây of the Truong Sa archipelago.

- 1969:

- 6 June, formation of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG of RSVN).

- 21 October, joining of the Định Hải commune (in the Hoang Sa) to the Hòa Long commune, district of Hòa Vang, province of Quảng Nam.

- 1971:

- 2 February, the Embassy of Malaysia in Saigon asks the Ministry of FA of the RVN whether the islands of the so-called Republic Morac Songhrati-Meade between 9° latitude North and 112° longitude East belong to the RVN.

- 20 April, Saigon informs the Embassy of Malaysia that the Truong Sa archipelago belongs to the territory of Vietnam.

-10 July, the Philippino president Ferdinand Marcos denounces the Taiwanese forces for usurping the island of Ba Bình (Itu Aba) and recalls the Philippino view that the Trường Sa archipelago is placed under the de facto mandate of the Allies. The Phillipino navy occupies the islands Vĩnh Viễn, Song Tử Đông, Loại Ta and Thị Tứ, which it respectively names Lawak, Parola, Kota, and Pagasa.

- 13 July Trần Văn Lắm, Minister of FA of Saigon, declares in Manila that the Truong Sa (Spratly) have long belonged to Vietnam.

- 15 July, a communique of the Saigon Administration reaffirms the historical and juridical titles on which the sovereignty of Viet nam over the Trường Sa archipelago is founded.

- 1972:

28 February, President Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai sign the Shanghai communique.

- 1973:

- 27 January, signing of the Paris Agreement on the cessation of war and reestablishment of peace in Vietnam.

- 2 March, signing of the Act of Paris, by which the belligerent parties, the five Greats and the member countries of the International Commission for control and supervision of the implementa tion of the 1973 Paris Agreement lend guarantee to the Paris Agreement.

- 6 September, the Saigon Government joins the Truong Sa archipelago to the commune of Phước Hải, district of Đất Đỏ, province of Phước Tuy.

- 1974:

- 11 January, Peking protests against the joining of the Nansha archipelago (Truong Sa) to the commune of Phước Hải.

- 20 January, after the bombardment of the islands of Hữu Nhật (Robert), Quang Ánh (Money), and Hoang Sa (Pattle); the troops of Peking land to seize these islands, so the western part of the Hoàng Sa archipelago falls into the hands of the Chinese troops.

- The representative of the Administration of Saigon to the UNO informs the Security Council and the UN Secretary General of the Chinese aggression against Hoàng Sa. The Saigon Government informs the signatories of the Act of Paris and other countries of the aggression by the PRC against the Hoàng Sa.

- 26 January, the Military Delegation of the PRG of RSVN publishes a 3-point statement regarding the occupation of the western part of the Hoàng Sa by the troops of Peking, proposing the settlement of the dispute by peaceful means.

- 28 January, president Nguyễn Văn Thiệu informs the Chiefs of friendly States of the Chinese aggression against the Hoàng Sa archipelago.

- 30 March, at the Conference of the Economic Council of the Far-East held in Colombo and on 2 July, at the Conference of the UNO on the Law of the Sea held in Caracas, the representatives of the Saigon Government denounced the occupation of the Hoàng Sa by the troops of Peking and reaffirmed the Vietnamese sovereignty

over the Hoàng Sa and the Truong Sa as well.

- 1975:

- 14 February, publication by the Ministry of FA of Saigon of the White Book regarding the Hoang Sa and the Truong Sa archipelagoes.

- From 13 April to 28 April, the navy of the DRVN retakes from the Saigon troops the control of the islands of the Trường Sa archipelago.

- 30 April, the fall of the Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Government and liberation of South Vietnam.

- 9 September, the representative of the PRG at the Meteoro logical Conference for Asia held in Colombo requests the maintenance of the registration in the WMO Synop system of the meteorological station of Vietnam installed on the island Hoàng Sa

(Pattle) under number 48860 by reason of Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoàng Sa.

- 10 September, the PRC affirms in a Note to the Ministry of FA of the DRVN that the Xisha and the Nansha are Chinese territory.

- 24 September, at a meeting with the delegation of the Party and of the Government of Vietnam, Deng Xiaoping recognizes that there exist disputes between the two countries concerning the Xisha and Nansha archipelagoes: "The problem will be naturally the subject of discussion in the future".

- 10 November, the Ministry of FA of the DRVN send to the PRC Ministry of FA a Note recalling the statement by Deng Xiaoping on 24 September and proposing the cessation of all propaganda relating to the conflict of the archipelagoes to create a favourable climate for eventual negotiations. In its answer of 24 November, China

rejects the proposal.

- 3 December, tike Ambassador of the DRVN to Peking, at a meeting with the Chinese Minister of FA, reaffirms the Vietnamese sovereignty over the Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa archipelagoes

- 1976:

- 4 June, the spokesman of the Ministry of FA of the PRC reaffirms the Chinese rights over the 4 archipelagoes in the China Sea, including the Xisha and the Nansha, and protests against the exploitation of fuel by the Philippines on the shoal Reed Banks.

- 5 June, the spokesman of the Ministry of FA of the DRVN declares that Vietnam reserves the right to ensure the defense of the Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa archipelagoes.

- 2 July, the SRVN is founded, on the basis of the reunification of the two zones North and South.

- 1977:

- 12 May, the Government of the SRVN publishes a statement regarding the sea zones and the continental shelf of Vietnam (for the continental part of Vietnam).

- 7 October, at the talks concerning the frontiers, the chief of the SRVN delegation Phan Hiền proposes the inclusion of the question of the contentious archipelagoes in the agenda, his Chinese coun terpart Han Nianlong declines the offer,

- 1978:

- 2 March, the Philippines occupy a new island (the Lamkian) and names it Panata. It is the 7th usurpation by Manila after Pagasa, Parola, Kota, Lawak, Likas and Pugad.

- In March, the World Conference on radio-communications ad ministration of the aeronautical mobile service is held in Geneva. The final Acts of the Conference give the PRC a monopoly of frequencies in a vast region including all the China Sea, in which the contentious archipelagoes Hoang Sa and Truong Sa also included; this fact may be interpreted by China as a de facto recognition of the so-called rights

of the PRC and all is in contradiction with the regulations of the International Union of Telecommunications (UIT).

- During his trip to the Philippines (in September) and to Malaysia (in October), Prime Minister Phạm Văn Đồng agrees with President Ferdinand Marcos and Prime Minister Hussein On that the parties concerned shall settle the disputes and dissensions by peaceful means.

- 1979:

- 17 February, a Chinese army of 600,000 men acted with aggression against all the six frontier provinces of North Vietnam. Defeated, it withdrew two weeks later.

- 15 March, publication of White Book by the Ministry of FA of Vietnam regarding the Vietnam - China frontier, certain passages of which concern the Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa archipelagoes.

- 26 April, the negotiations between Vietnam and China begin at the level of Vice-ministers of FA of the SRVN and the PRC for the normalisation of relations between the two countries.

- 3 July, the Civil Aviation Service of China creates 4 dangerous zones in the air space of the Xisha and obliges foreign civil planes to abide by them in an attempt to obtain de facto recognition of the Chinese rights over the Xisha.

- 30 July, Peking publishes a document to demonstrate that Vietnam has recognized the Chinese sovereignty over the Xisha and the Nansha.

- On 7 August, the Ministry of FA of the SRVN rejects these tendentious assertions.

- 8 September, the Ministry of FA of the SRVN publishes documents affirming the Vietnamese sovereignty over the Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa archipelagoes.

- 28 September, the Ministry of FA of the SRVN protests against lumping almost the whole of the Hoàng Sa together with the Philippino territory.

- 21 December, Malaysia publishes a map of the territorial sea and the limits of the Malaysian continental shelf with encroachment on the Vietnamese territorial waters in the Trường Sa.

- 1980:

- 30 January, publication by the Ministry FA of the PRC of a document affirming Chinese sovereignty over the Xisha and Nansha archipelagoes.

- 5 February, declaration of the spokesman of the Ministry of FA of the SRVN refusing the falsified documents dated 30 January of the PRC.

- 10 March, the Ministry of FA of the SRVN affirms the sovereignty of Vietnam over the island An Bang and over the Truong Sa archipelago in general, in a Note to the Malaysian Ministry of FA.

- 29 April, the Ministry of FA of the SRVN protests to the Ministry of FA of Malaysia against the publication of a new map by Malaysia, which represents part of the Trường Sa archipelago as Malaysian territory.

- 13 June, the Vietnamese delegation to the Regional Meteoro logical Conference of WMO demands that the Vietnamese meteorological station on the island of Trường Sa be inscribed to the WMO network.

- 26 July, The Ministry of FA of Taiwan makes public the position of its country regarding the Xisha and Nansha archipelagoes.

- 28 July, the Philippines occupy the reef Condor.

- 1981:

- December, the General Administration of the Post and Tele communications of the SRVN points out to the President of the IFRB Committee that the SRVN cannot accept the allotment to the PRC of the frequencies reserved for the subdivision of zone 6 G which includes the air space of the Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa archipelagoes.

- 1982:

- January, publication by the Ministry of FA of the SRVN of the White Book "The Hoang Sa and Truong Sa Archipelagoes: Vietna ese Territories".

- 9 February, Taiwan places under its jurisdiction the Xisha and Nansha archipelagoes. On 21 February, the spokesman for the Ministry of FA of the SRVN raises a protest against this decision.

- October, at the Conference of the Plenipotentiaries of the UIT in Nairobi, the Vietnamese delegation rejects the allocation of frequencies of 1978 in the Biển Đông sea in favour of the PRC.

- 12 November, the Government of the SRVN publishes the Declaration regarding the base line serving to measure the width of the territorial sea of the SRVN.

- 9 December, creation of Truong Sa district belonging to Phú Khánh province.

- 1983:

- March, the Word Conference on tele-communications administration of the mobile aeronautical service of UIT agrees to examine at the next meeting the Vietnamese proposal regarding a provisional arrangement pending a definitive solution of the allocation of frequencies in the Biển Đông sea.

- 25 April, the Commission of Toponyms of the PRC renames the islands, islets, shoals, and reefs in the Biển Đông sea, including those of the Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa archipelagoes. 9 May, protestation of the SRVN.

- 21 May, signing in Manila of the US-Philippines Treaty of Common Defense which does not consider the Kalayaan archipelago (Philippino name of the Truong Sa) part of the Philippino territory and its defense an objective of the Treaty.

- Replying to the letter dated 22 May, 1983, from Mr.Trần Văn An regarding the illegal registration of the Chinese meteorological stations on the islands Sanhudao and Xisha, Mr.Wiin Nielson, Secretary General of WMO has affirmed that "the appellations used in this publication and the presentation of data therein do not imply

any taking position on the part of the Secretariat of WMO relating to the juridical status of the countries, territories, cities or zones, or of their activities, nor to the delineation of their frontiers or limits".

- 25 March, and 7 September, 1983, the Ministry of FA of the SRVN protests against the actions of Malaysia: erection of sovereignty-marks and landing of troops on the island Hoa Lâu (Swallow), in violation of the sovereignty of Vietnam over the

Trường Sa archipelago.

- 1984:

- The National Assembly of the PRC declares the creation of the administrative zone of Hainan, including the Xisha and Nansha archipelagoes in this zone. Protestation of the SRVN.

- 1985:

- General Văn Tiến Dũng, Minister of Defense of the SRVN visits the Trường Sa archipelago.

- 1986:

- December, Malaysia occupies the islands Kỳ Vân (Mariveles Reef), Kiệu Ngựa (Ardasier Reef).

- 1987:

- From 16 May to 6 June, Chinese naval maneuvres in the region of the Truong Sa archipelago.

- 10 November, landing of Chinese naval forces on the reef Luisa (118°/6O8).

- 1988:

- 14 March, extremely serious provocations by Chinese naval ships against Vietnamese positions causing great losses to the Vietnamese side: three vessels burnt, 74 persons missing and occupation by Chinese troops of the reefs and shoals: Đá Chữ Thập (Fiery Cross Reef), Đá Châu Viên (Cuarteron Reef), Đá Gaven (Gaven Reef), Đá Gạc Ma (Johnson Reef), Đá Tư Nghĩa, and Đá Subi (Subi Reef). The Government of the SRVN has informed the UNO, sent many Notes of protestation to the Government of the PRC, particularly those of 17, 23, 26 March, 1988, proposing negotiations for the settlement of the conflict. The PRC continues to occupy the reefs and rejects the proposals.

- 13 April, the PRC creates the province of Hainan, including the Xisha and the Nansha archipelagoes. 14 April, Note of protestation of the Ministry of FA of the SRVN.

- 25 April, the Ministry of FA of the SRVN publishes the document about the situation of Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa, reiterating the proposal of peaceful settlement through negotiation.

- 1989:

- The PRC erects the sovereignty-marks on the reefs and shoals it occupied in 1988.

- 14 August, the Government of the SRVN decides to create an economic, scientific, and service complex in the region of the shoal Tư Chính, Huyền Trân, Quế Đường, Phúc Tân, Phúc Nguyên situated on the Vietnamese continental shelf at 7-8°30' North 109 - 112°20' East.

- 1990:

- 28 April, the Ministry of FA of the SRVN protests against the erection by Chinese troops of a stele on the shoal Én Đất (Eldad) in the Trường Sa archipelago.

- 1991:

- 25, May, Peking publishes the results of 8 years of scientific investigations (from 1984) on the Nansha.

- 10 November, the Vietnamese and Chinese leaders sign in Peking a joint communique on the normalisation of relations between the two countries.

- 1992:

- 25 February, the National Assembly of the PRC publishes the Law on the territorial sea and the adjoining zone of the PRC, stipulating that the territorial sea is 12 miles wide and affirming that the Chinese territory includes the 4 archipelagoes Zhonsha,

Xisha, Nansha, Tongsha, and that of Sensaku.

- 8 May, the CNOC signs a contract with the US company Crestone, authorizing it to protest and exploit a lot of 25,255 km2 in the zone called Wan Anpei 21 by the Chinese and situated, in fact, on the continental shelf of the SRVN.

- 16 May, the Ministry of FA of Vietnam declares this signing null and void as it is obviously in violation of the Vietnamese rights on its continental shelf and its exclusive economic zone.

- 21 May, Taiwan approves a law affirming its sovereignty and its territorial sea from its coast including the Nansha and the Sensaku archipelago. 24 May, the Ministry of FA of Vietnam protests against this action of Taiwan and reaffirms its sovereignty over the Hoàng Sa and the Trường Sa.

- 6 July, China erects a sovereignty-mark on the reef Da Lac (2 miles south of Gaven). Protestation from the SRVN on 9 July.

- 1 October, Premier Li Peng declares: "I hope that the question of sovereignty of the Nansha archipelago may be set aside to consider with other countries a common exploitation of it.

- 12 October, Vietnam-China negotiations on the question of frontiers and territory begin in Peking. The two parties exchange views on the land frontiers.

- 24 December, in Hanoi, Premier V6 Van Kiet and Premier Li Peng agree that the two countries will discuss to settle the differ ences about the frontiers and the territory on land as well as at sea.

SITUATION OF THE PARACELS AND SPRATLY AT THE END OF 1993

I. HOÀNG SA ARCHIPELAGO/PARACELS (XISHA IN CHINESE)

Total area of the islands and shoals: 10 km2 in a zone of 15,000 - 16,000 km2. Occupied by the troops of the PRC since 1956 (the eastern part) and 1974 (the western part).

Islands and shoals Vietnamese name English name Chinese name

Nhóm Đông Amphitrite Xuande jiao

Cồn Cát Tây West Sand Xishazhou

Đảo Cây Tree Island Shaosu dao

Đảo Bắc North Island Bei dao

Đảo Trung Middle Island Zhong dao

Cồn Cát Nam South Sand Nanshazhou

Đảo Phú Lâm Woody Island Yongxing

Đảo Linh Côn Lincoln Island Dong dao

Đảo Nam South Island Nan dao

Nhóm Tây Crescent Yongjo qundao

Đá Bắc North Reef Beijiao

Đảo Hoàng Sa Pattle Island Shanhu dao

Đảo Hữu Nhật Robert Island Canquan dao

Đảo Quang Ảnh Money Island Jinyin dao

Đảo Duy Mộng Drumond Island Jingquing dao

Đảo Quang Hòa Duncan Island Chenhang dao

Đảo Tri Tôn Triton Island Zhongjian dao

Bãi Gò Nô Dido Bank Xidu tan

Bãi Thủy Tề Neptuna Bank -

Bãi Quảng Nghĩa Jehangire Bank Zhanhan tan

Bãi Châu Nhai Bremen Bank Ximei tan

Đá Bông Bay Bombay Reef Langhua jiao

Đá Chim Yến Vuladdore Reef Yuzhuoi jiao

Đá Lồi Discovery Reef Huaguang jiao

Đá Bạch Quy Passu keh Panshi yu

II. TRƯỜNG SA ARCHIPELAGO/ SPRATLY (NANSHA IN CHINESE)

Total area of islands and shoals: 10 km , in a zone of 160,000 - 180,000 km2. Vietnamese sovereignty has existed for a long time. The neighbours began to occupy parts of it as of 1956 (Taiwain), in the 1970s (the Philippines) and the 1980s (Malaysia, the People's Republic of China).

Under Vietnamese control

Vietnamese name English name Chinese name

Đá Lát Ladd Reef Riji dao

Đảo Trường Spratly Island Nanwei dao

Đá Tây West London Reef Xi jiao

Đá Giữa Central London Reef Zheng jiao

Đá Đông East London Reef Dong jiao

Đảo An Bang Amboyan Cay Anbo shazhou

Thuyền Chài Barque Canada Reef Bai jiao

&