The
Vietnamese islands of Truong Sa, known internationally as the Spratly
archipelago, are situated off the Republic of Vietnam's coast between
approximately 80 and 11040 North latitude. In. the course of history, the
Vietnamese people have had intermittent contact with these islands known for
their dangerous grounds and access. Unlike the case of the Hoang Sa (Paracel)
Islands, the former emperors of Vietnam did not have the time to strengthen
these contacts through the organization of an administrative jurisdiction.
However, the French, who occupied the Southern part of Vietnam known as
Cochinchina, took all those measures necessary for the establishment of the
legal basis for possession of the Spratly Islands. In 1933, the Spratlys were
incorporated into the French colony of Cochinchina and from that year forward
have had an adequate administrative structure.
It is true
that French jurisdiction was disrupted by the Japanese invasion of 1941.
However, shortly after the Japanese defeat in 1945, France returned Cochinchina
to Vietnam, which then recovered all the rights attached to the former French
colony. Immediately thereafter, Vietnamese sovereignty over the Truong Sa
Islands faced groundless claims from other countries in the area which military
occupied some of the islands of the archipelago.
Geographic
and historic background.
The Truong
Sa archipelago is spread over hundreds of miles in the South China
Sea.
However, it only contains 9 islands of relatively significant:
-
Truong Sa or
Spratly Island proper.
-
An Bang or
Amboyna Cay.
-
Sinh Ton or
Sin Cowe.
-
Nam Yet or
Nam Yit.
-
Thai Binh or
Itu-Aba.
-
Loai Ta.
-
Thi Tu.
-
Song Tu Tay
or South West Cay.
-
Song Tu Dong
or North East Cay.
Because of
the size of the area, the archipelago is divided into many groups. Using the
main island of Spratly (which gave its name to the whole archipelago) as a
point of reference, the distances to the shores of surrounding countries are as
follows:
-
Spratly
Island to Phan Thiet (Republic of Vietnam) 280 nautical miles
-
Spratly
Island to the closest shore of Hainan Island (People's Republic of China) 580
nm
-
Spratly
Island to the closest shore on Palawan Island (Philippines) 310 nm
-
Spratly
Island to the closest shore of Taiwan 900 nm
Like the
Hoang Sa Islands, the Truong Sa archipelago is composed of little coral islands
which are often surrounded by smaller reefs. Because of their proximity to the
coast of Vietnam, these islands have always been frequented by fishermen from
the southern part of Vietnam. These fishermen made regular expeditions to the
islands and sometimes stayed there for prolonged periods of time. Vietnamese
history books often made reference to the ,Dai Truong Sa Dao-, a term used to
designate both the Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes and, more generally, all
insular possessions of the Vietnamese (50). The map published circa 1838 by
Phan Huy Chu and called "Dai Nam Nhat Thong Toan Do" (fig. 8, page
32) expressly mentioned the Spratlys, under the name Van Ly Truong Sa, as part
of Vietnamese territory, although the archipelago was not located at its proper
place because of the use of ancient geographic techniques.
These
distant islands were often neglected by the Vietnamese authorities of the
time. The
emperors did not implement a systematic policy of occupation on the Truong Sa
Islands as they had for the other archipelago, Hoang Sa. Furthermore, the
Empire of Vietnam lost interest in the islands off the Cochinchinese shore as
the French occupation of Cochinchina began in 1852. For their part, the French
took some time before consolidating their rights to the Truong Sa archipelago.
Their first recorded action was a scientific reconnaissance of the Spratlys by
the vessel De Lanessan following its exploration of the Paracels (1927). This
scientific mission was followed by an official expedition in 1930 on the sloop
la Malicieuse, in the course of which the French flag was hoisted on the
highest point of an island called Ile de la Tempete.
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