Battle of the Paracel Islands

Battle of the Paracel Islands
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Battle of the Paracel Islands

/

Date
January 19, 1974

Location


Result
Chinese victory
People`s Republic of China gaining total control over Paracel Islands



Belligerents

/Liberation Army
/of Vietnam

Commanders and leaders


Colonel Hà Văn Ngạc

Strength

4 Corvettes 2 Submarine Chasers marine battalions unknown number of militia
3 Frigates 1 Corvette commando platoon demolition team militia platoon

Casualties and losses

18 killed some injured 4 Corvettes damaged
53 killed 16 injured 1 Corvette sunk 3 Frigates damaged

The Battle of the Paracel Islands was a military engagement fought between the naval forces of the Republic of and the of () in the on January 19, 1974.
Contents
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Historical
The
.1 Balance of
.2
.3 The

.1 Vietnamese
.2 Chinese
.3

See

External

[] Historical background
The tiny, uninhabited , called Quan Dao Hoang Sa (Quần Đảo Hoàng Sa) in (Hoang Sa Islands) and Xisha Qundao (西沙群島) in Chinese (Xisha Islands), lie in the South China Sea roughly 200 miles from the nearest Asian mainland shore. With no native population, the archipelago`s ownership has been in dispute frequently since the early 20th century.
On July 3, 1938, French troops, who had colonized in the 19th century, invaded and occupied Paracel Islands despite Chinese protests. This took place shortly after the breakout of the Sino-Japanese , when China was fully engaged in resisting Japan`s invasion. Three days later, on July 6, the Japanese Foreign Ministry also issued a declaration in protest of the French occupation:
The statement of Great Britain and France made respectively in 1900 and 1921 already declared that the Xisha [Paracel] Islands were part of the Administrative Prefecture of Island. Therefore, the current claims made by An`nan or France to the Xisha Islands are totally unjustifiable1
During the Second World War, Japanese expelled the French troops and took over the islands in spite of the 1938 declaration. At the end of the war (Asian-Pacific Region), the Government of the of formally retook the Paracels, Spratlys and other islands in the South China Sea in October and November 1946. In of 1954 Japan formally renounced all of its claims to, inter alia, the South China Sea islands which it had occupied during the World War II2This arrangement was prepared, observed, and signed by a number of nations, including the People`s Republic of China according to some sources3In 1958, the People`s Republic of China issued a declaration defining its territorial waters which encompassed the Spratly and Paracel Islands. prime minister, Van , sent a diplomatic note to China stating that "We have the honour to bring to your knowledge that the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam recognizes and supports the declaration dated 4th September, 1958 of the Government of China fixing the width of the Chinese territorial waters. The Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam respects this decision45However, claimed jurisdiction over the islands on the basis of the prior French occupation6and landed its forces on one of the Paracel Islands in 19737
Despite the ongoing disputed proclamation, the South Vietnamese Government continued to maintain a small weather observation garrison on Pattle Island, the largest island in this group. There was no action initiated by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) to displace this presence. By 1973, after the Peace , the United States of America significantly reduced and eventually cut off military supplies to its ally. As a result, the forces presence on the Paracels was reduced to a single platoon of soldiers.
On January 16, six South Vietnamese Army officers and an American observer were sent to the Paracels for an inspection tour. They discovered two Chinese "armored fishing trawlers" were laying off Drummond Island supporting troops from the PLA that had occupied the territory. In addition, Chinese soldiers were observed around a bunker on nearby Duncan Island, with a landing ship moored directly on the beach and two additional Kronstad-class guided missile gun boats in the vicinity of the island. The findings were reported back to the regional headquarters in Da Nang and immediately over to . The Government of the of decided to attempt eviction of the PRC forces89
In January, 1974, South Vietnamese naval vessels were dispatched to confront a fleet of the People`s Republic of China. At the same time, was pardoned from his first purge and reinstated to the Chinese central government in