Paracel Islands
| Paracel Islands | ||
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| Waters | South China Sea | |
| Geographical location | 16 ° 30 ′ N , 112 ° 0 ′ E | |
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| Number of islands | 30th | |
| Total land area | 8.7 km² | |
| Residents | 1700 | |
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The Paracel Islands (also known as the Hoàng Sa Islands or Xisha Islands ) ( Chinese 西沙群島 / 西沙群岛 , Pinyin Xīshā Qúndǎo , Vietnamese Quần đảo Hoàng Sa , Chữ nôm : 群島 黄沙 ) are a group of coral atolls in the South China Sea . They are located around 330 km southeast of the Chinese island of Hainan and 400 km east of Vietnam .
The islands are controlled by the People's Republic of China and, from the Chinese perspective, are part of the prefecture-level city of Sansha in the province of Hainan . They are made up of two archipelagos , the Xuande Qundao in the east and the Yongle Qundao in the west. In total, they include 22 islands, eight sandbanks and ten sunken atolls, reefs and sandbanks that sometimes dry out briefly only at low tide. The main island is the 2.1 km² Yongxing Dao ( Woody Island ), which belongs to the Xuande Qundao archipelago. Important sea routes run through the South China Sea and past the Paracel Islands. Vietnam and Taiwan claim the entire archipelago as their national territory.
history
618-1279
On the Paracels some archaeological finds from the Tang and Song dynasties have been unearthed and some indications of at least a temporary Chinese settlement of the islands during this time. According to the Wujing Zongyao , a book published during the Northern Song Dynasty in 1044, the islands were part of the patrol area of the Song Dynasty Imperial Navy.
1279-1368
In 1279 , after his victory over the Song , Kublai Khan , emperor of the Yuan Dynasty , sent the famous astronomer Guo Shoujing to the South China Sea to explore and survey the islands and the surrounding sea area. Guo's base for the exploration was on the Paracel Islands. His activities are detailed in the Yuan Shi . According to the Yuan Shi , the islands of the South China Sea were within the boundaries of the Yuan Dynasty. Maps published during the Yuan period show Changsha (the Paracel Islands) and Shitang (the Nansha Islands ) as part of the Yuan Empire.
1368-1912
Local chronicles and other historical sources of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing dynasties (1644–1912) repeatedly mention the islands in the South China Sea as the territory of China. The then Qiongzhou Prefecture (highest administrative authority of the then Hainan ) exercised the power of government over the Paracel and Spratly Islands in the Ming and Qing times . At that time the islands were never permanently settled and were mainly used as outposts for fishermen. The first Europeans before the Paracels were French sailors (around 1568). In 1816, the Vietnamese Emperor Gia Long declared the islands to be Vietnamese territory.
In 1883, the Qing government protested heavily against Germany when German ships made reconnaissance trips to the Paracel and Spratly regions. In 1895 and 1896, the German ship Bellona and the Japanese ship Himeji Maru sank off the islands. The wrecks were recovered by Chinese fishermen and sold on to Hainan. Protests against the fishermen's behavior were rejected by the Chinese on the grounds that the islands did not belong to any country. In the Sino-French Treaty of 1887 (France had now occupied Indochina ) a line of sea borders, known as the Sino-Tonkin Delimitation Line , was expressly established , according to which all islands east of the line should belong to China. The Paracel and Spratly Islands are east of the line. In 1910, China's Qing government invited merchants to lease, manage, and develop the islands in the South China Sea. To do this, the government should protect the islands and maintain Chinese sovereignty.
From 1912
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the new government of Guangdong Province placed the Paracel Islands under the administration of Ya County (now: Sanya City ) of what was then Hainan Prefecture . During the Republican period , China continued to exercise its sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea by granting licenses to private Chinese businessmen for the development and exploitation of raw materials, especially guano , and by protesting against foreign claims and occupation of some islands. The Governor General of Indochina declared the Paracel Islands to be French territory in March 1925.
On July 27, 1932, the Chinese envoy in France, on behalf of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, lodged a diplomatic protest against the French claims to the Paracel Islands at the French Foreign Ministry . On November 30, 1932, Zhu Zhaoshen, a senior official in the Chinese Foreign Ministry, wrote to the French consul in Guangzhou reiterating that "it is absolutely beyond any doubt that the Xisha Islands are within the borders of China." In 1937, a French mission explored the possibilities of building infrastructure for sea and air traffic on the islands. Despite repeated Chinese protests, French troops occupied the Paracel Islands on July 3, 1938. This action took place shortly after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War , when China was mainly preoccupied with resisting Japan . Three days later, on July 6, the Japanese Foreign Ministry protested:
“The declarations made by Great Britain and France in 1900 and 1921, respectively, stated that the Xisha Islands were part of Hainan Prefecture . Therefore, the current claims that Annam or France are making on the Xisha Islands are completely unjustified. "
During the Second World War , Japan drove out French troops and occupied the islands. After the war ended, the Republic of China in Taiwan took over the Paracel, Spratly and other islands in the South China Sea in October and November 1946. Japan officially renounced the islands in 1952. The French now maintained a garrison on Shanhu Dao (Pattle Island), which was taken over by South Vietnamese troops in 1956 . In the same year troops of the People's Republic of China occupy the eastern part of the archipelago. On January 15, 1974, Chinese troops landed on the western islands and defeated the Vietnamese forces. Since then, the People's Republic of China has occupied the Paracel Islands, regardless of the claims of the other neighboring states.
In 2014, the Chinese state-owned oil company CNPC announced that its drilling platform had found oil and gas deposits in the Xisha Islands.
In late January 2016, the US destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur crossed the waters of the Paracel Islands less than 12 nautical miles from Triton Island . The People's Republic of China protested that Chinese territorial waters had been violated. Spokesman for the Pentagon replied that the United States take any partisanship in the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, but make it clear wanted the United States "excessive sea area claims" the parties to the conflict, which restricted the "navigation rights and freedoms," would not recognize.
On February 17, 2016, the government of the Republic of China in Taiwan stated that satellite images captured on February 14, 2016 showed that the People's Republic of China had installed anti-aircraft missile facilities on Yongxing Dao (Woody Island), one of the Paracel Islands. The commander in chief of the United States Pacific Command Harry B. Harris confirmed the report and spoke of a "militarization of the South China Sea", which President Xi Jinping had actually promised not to. Even Japan expressed concern.
On May 18, 2018, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative reported that - probably for the first time - Chinese fighter jets and bombers, including the Xian H-6 nuclear weapon , had landed on the Paracel Islands. A few weeks earlier, the US television station CNBC had reported that China had installed a missile defense system on the also controversial Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
In July 2020, the US Navy sent the aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz with four other warships to the islands to carry out exercises in the sea area there. This should send an unmistakable signal to US partners and US allies that the US is committed to regional security and stability and was a kind of response to several days of military exercises by China near the Paracel Islands.
Administrative structure
From a Vietnamese point of view
The Paracel Islands are as a district Hoàng Sa part of the city Da Nang . The area of the islands (including territorial waters) is 305 km², they make up 24.29% of the total area of the city.
- From April 13, 1930 to April 12, 1933, the Paracel Islands were under the administration of a French naval garrison stationed there
- 1938 issued the Governor-General of French Indochina Decree 156 / SC with which the administration of the Paracels délégation was founded
- Until 1938, the Paracel Islands were part of the Quảng Nam Province
- In March 1938, Emperor Bảo Đại transferred the Paracel Islands under the control of Th Provinza Thiên Province
- On July 13, 1961, President Ngô Đình Diệm issued Decree 175-NV, which organized the islands into the Định Hải municipality in the Hòa Vang district of the Quảng Nam province
- With decree 709-BNV-HC of October 21, 1969, the government of the Republic of Vietnam united the municipality of Định Hải with the municipality of Hòa Long, also located in the Hoà Vang district
- From 1982 to 1996 they were part of the province of Qu Namng Nam-Đà N Provinzng, since its division in 1996 they belong to Đà Nẵng
From a Chinese point of view
As part of the city of Sansha, the islands are divided into two communities and five villages. Except for Yonglequndao and Jinqing, who report to the Yongle Qundao Labor and Administration Committee (永乐 群岛 工委 、 管委会), all administrative units are directly subordinate to the Sansha City Government.
- Residents Community Yongxing (永兴社区) on Yongxing Dao , seat of the city government
- Residents Community Yonglequndao (永乐群岛社区) on jinqing Dao
- Jinqing Village (晋卿 村), on Jinqing Dao ;
- Lingyang (Sansha) (羚羊 村) village , on Kuangzai Shaozhou
- Qilianyu Village (七 连 屿 村), on Zhaoshu Dao
- Yagong Village (鸭 公 村), on Yagong Dao
- Yongxing Village (永兴 村), on Yongxing Dao
General
Despite frequent cyclones and tropical climates , Vietnam and both Chinese states are showing great interest in the islands, because oil and gas are suspected to be in their area .
China built port facilities , an airport and a cellular network on the islands .
There are also numerous shipwrecks with valuable historical cargo, mainly Chinese export products from the Song , Yuan and Ming periods .
Other archipelagos in the South China Sea
See also
Web links
- A Milestone in China's Archeology: Discovery of Ancient Ceramics off Xisha
- Another 10 Relics Sites Discovered off Xisha Islands
- Xisha Islands History Video - English
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://nguyenthaihocfoundation.org/lichsuVN/tapsansudia29dackhaohoangsatruongsa1.pdf
- ↑ Dangerous Skirmishes in the South China Sea. - China is in an open territorial conflict with Vietnam. The sensitive dispute is about raw materials - and about supremacy in the region. In: The time. June 15, 2011.
- ^ Museum of Guangdong Province: Briefing Investigation Report of Guangdong Province Xisha Islands' Culture Relics . In: Culture Relics . October 1974, p. 1-29, 95-102 ( cnki.net [accessed November 28, 2008]). Briefing Investigation Report of Guangdong Province Xisha Islands' Culture Relics ( Memento of the original from January 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Zhenhua Han, LI Jinming: Niangniang Temple and Corallite Little Temple in Paracel and Spratly Islands . In: Southeast Asian Affairs . April 1990, p. 86 ( cnki.net [accessed November 28, 2008]). Niangniang Temple and Corallite Little Temple in Paracel and Spratly Islands ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 我国 对 西沙 南沙群岛 主权 的 历史 和 法理 依据. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 10, 2016 ; Retrieved October 16, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Monique Chemillier-Gendreau: Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands , p. 35.
- ^ Himeji Maru Cargo Ship 1888-1896. In: Wrecksite. Retrieved June 10, 2019 .
- ^ Myron H. Nordquist, John Norton Moore: Security flashpoints: oil, islands, sea access and military confrontation. University of Virginia, pp. 165-174.
- ↑ Monique Chemillier-Gendreau: Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands , p. 37.
- ↑ Monique Chemillier-Gendreau: Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands , p. 38.
- ^ Myron H. Nordquist et al: Security Flashpoints. oil, islands, sea access and military confrontation. University of Virginia, Center for Oceans Law. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1998, pp. 174-185. ( online in Google Book Search)
- ↑ Monique Chemillier-Gendreau: Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands , p. 44.
- ^ South China Sea: US warship sails near disputed island. In: BBC News. January 30, 2016, accessed January 30, 2016 .
- ↑ China 'has deployed missiles in South China Sea' - Taiwan. In: BBC News. January 17, 2016, accessed January 17, 2016 .
- ↑ China lands fighter jets for the first time on disputed islands orf.at May 19, 2018, accessed May 19, 2018.
- ↑ https://www.n-tv.de/politik/USA-schicken-zwei-Flugzeugtraeger-article21890956.html
- ↑ http://www.vietlaw.gov.vn/LAWNET/docView.do?docid=4531
