DOCUMENTS ON VIETNAM’S
SOVEREIGNTY
OVER THE PARACEL &
SPRATLY ISLANDS
NGUYEN NHA, PhD. In History
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Ladies, Gentlemen & my Young Friends.
The truth on the establishment and validation of
Vietnam’ sovereignty on the Paracel Islands is
very clear, which is based faithfully on
international laws through the centuries. Then it
is ironic that many people in the World and
respected study organizations such as the
National Geographic Society of the USA did not
know about these facts.
Is it true that at today people are ready to modify the truth,
because of the fear of the powerful? Or do they refuse to
recognize the veracity of facts in order to contest historical
validity? Or is it because that the truth is hidden by the
time factor so that no one now cares to recognize it?
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I am certain that everyone will soon know the real
ownership rights of VN on the Paracel and Spratly
islands, and then the truth will be honored. Let us return
to Cesar what belongs to Cesar. The truth is the power of
the weak to maintain the truth on his side. Only by
respecting the truth, order and peace in the world can be
maintained and solidified.
My presentation in English, some articles of mine, even
my PhD thesis entitled “Establishment of Vietnam’s
sovereignty on the Paracel and Spratly Islands”, presented
and defended at the National University of
Hochiminhcity in 2003, have been printed . I hope you will
read them to understand the facts. Here, I shall present
and promote the following happenings:a summary of
”Documents on Viet Nam’s Sovereignty over Paracels &
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Spratlys” about 400 pages
This document is in three parts:
Part I consists of an analysis of a 1960 U.S. Army
document, and excerpts from geography books
and travel diaries by Western writers from the
nineteenth century and earlier.
Part II is a summary of three papers presented at
seminars held in Hanoi and in Philadelphia,
U.S.A., in 2010.
Part III presents some highlights of the author’s
doctoral thesis entitled "How Was Vietnamese
Sovereignty Established Over the Paracel &
Spratly Archipelagoes,” including his opinions
on new developments.
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Part I
I.1. “Analysis on The SpratleyParacel Islands Dispute,” no
010660, 6 June 1960, Headquarters,
U.S. Pacific Broadcasting and
Visual Activity AP0331.
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Excerpt:
"… In 1816, The Islands were officially annexed to the
Empire of Viet Nam by Gialong, and by 1820, they
were recognized as a Constituent of the territory
known as Cochin-China. In 1832, Emperor Minh
Mang sent a group of laborers to the islands for the
purpose of constructing a pagoda on Ban Na Rock.
The group not only constructed the pagoda but also
erected a stone column nearby to commemorate its
foundation. Two years later, the sovereignty of the empire
over the Paracels was further asserted by the appearance of
The Geography of the Vietnamese Empire, which reiterated
the proclamation of 1816 and provided a vivid description of
wildlife and vegetation on the islands. Another book, published
in 1838 by Monseigneur Taberd, remarks that 'for more than 34
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years, The Archipelago of Paracels has been occupied by the
I.2. Excerpts detailing Nam Ha's
(i.e. Cochinchina's) Sovereignty
over the Paracel Islands by
Western writers in geographical
books written in the 19th century
and before.
7
Today, many libraries in the United States, France,
Italy, and Spain store geographical books and travel
diaries in English, French, Italian, and Spanish from
the nineteenth century and even earlier, which
consistently support sovereignty belonging to Annam
(Cochin China), or Vietnam today. Many of these
books are currently available and archived on Google
and
at
www.hoangsa.org(net).
Of the 37 geographical books, many clearly stated that in 1816
the "King of Cochin China [Vietnam]" or King Gia Long or
"L'empereur d'Annam" took Possession of the Paracels, and
that “Gia Long went with solemnity to plant his flag and take
formal Possession of the Paracels, which nobody disputed, or
contested that the Paracels belonged to Cochinnchina
(Vietnam)."
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Part II
II.1. "Historical Background leading to the
dispute of Viet Nam's Sovereignty over the
Paracel and Spratly Islands-Causes and
Solutions"
See presentation at the International Conference
organized by the Vietnam Historical Science
Association held in Hanoi in 2006.
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II.2.
"Historical
and
Scientific
Evidence of Viet Nam's Sovereignty &
Refutation of China's Unscientific
Claims over the Paracel & Spratly
Archipelagos”.
See the document “About Vietnam’s
Sovereignty over the Paracel & Spratly
Islands” presented at the Workshop on the
South China Sea organized by the Institute
of Foreign Affairs and held in Hanoi in
April 2011.
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II.3. "Foundations and Facts of the
Establishment and Protection of
Viet Nam's Sovereignty as to the
Paracel and Spratly Islands"
See the paper presented in
Philadelphia, the United States,
in March 2010.
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Part III
Doctoral Dissertation Section
The historical truth about Vietnam's sovereignty over
the Paracels-Hoang Sa and Spratlys-Truong Sa is
detailed in this work in a thoroughly scientific and
objective
manner
and in irrefutable detail. The author cites over 200
references, in particular the Royal Orders (Du)
coming from the emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty
and many reports (tau & phúc tau) of the Department of
Building (Bo Công). There are also the history and geography
books of the Nguyen Dynasty which clearly described the
establishment of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracels12 -
Documents coming from European and Chinese
sources also stated very clearly that Viet Nam
exercised sovereignty over the Paracels-Hoang Sa &
Spratlys-Truong Sa.
13
The French colonial government in Vietnam was
slow in responding, but it did say that it did not for
that reason abandon the sovereignty over the
islands. In the early 1930s, the French government
took specific actions to post a military presence
and
maintain
its
sovereignty
through
meteorological stations located at Paracels-Hoang
Sa & Spratlys-Truong Sa. In 1947 France
transferred all civilian powers to Vietnam's national
government led by Emperor Bao Dai and in 1955
let the then government of South Vietnam take
over the territory of South Vietnam from latitude 17
southward as stipulated in the 1954 Geneva
Agreement.
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Some specific examples:
a. Decisions and
geography books
clearly
establishing
VietNam’s
sovereignty over the Paracels- Hoang Sa
and Spratlys-Truong Sa Islands. There
is no country other than Vietnam which
can show a continuous historical record,
with institutional policy
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b. There was no country other than Vietnam which
has an abundance of documentation in Chinese,
written by authorities from the central government
down to the local levels, that clearly established the
continued sovereignty of Vietnam over the
Paracels-Hoang Sa and Spratlys-Truong Sa
archipelagoes.
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Most valuable are the Royally Viewed Reports
(chau ban), i.e. official documents submitted to
the Nguyen emperors for review and approval,
the texts of which are now stored in a central
archive in Hanoi.
There we find unique
documents from the Department of the Building
on the establishment of Vietnamese sovereignty
over the Paracel Islands including surveys and
cadastral measurements and sketches of Hoang
Sa, milestone markers... The Command (Du)
from Minh Mang on the 18th of the seventh
month, 16th year of Minh Mang (1835), for
instance, in the Royally Viewed Reports (châu
ban) file Minh Mang, No. 54, page 92 has this
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"Edict of Emperor Minh Mang: The penalty
applied to Officer Pham Van Nguyen, Hoang Sa, 80
staff for being late” or a penalty of 80 staff to
director Tran Van Van, Nguyen Van Tiem, Nguyen
Van Hoang for not completing all of the ParacelsHoang Sa mapping. Meanwhile a reward was given
to the Paracels militiamen Vo Van Hung and Pham
Van Sanh, each of whom is to be given the money
to guide the naval voyage to the Paracels- Hoang
Sa. " Or, as Decree (Du of the 13th of the seventh
month, Minh Mang 18 (1837)) in the file Royally
Viewed Reports (châu ban), No. Minh Mang 57,
page 245, said order is to be sent to the chiefs of the two
provinces of Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh to measure, lay
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markers, and chart the Paracels-Hoang Sa...”
c. There is no country which has a stronger claim of
sovereignty than Vietnam which can show as many
European documents dating from the 19th century
and earlier. These documents clearly establish the sovereignty of
Vietnam over the Paracels-Hoang Sa and Spratlys-Truong Sa islands.
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d. Western maps over whelmingly clearly show "Hoang
Sa-Paracels" and note that they belong to Cochin ChinaDang Trong, in other words belonging to the Kingdom
of An Nam, which is today's Vietnam.
In addition to An Nam Đai Quoc Hoa Đo map of
Bishop Taberd's mapping, we also find several of maps
drawn by the West from the 18th century on, which
clearly note the Kingdom of An Nam, Paracels and
Cochin
China
(Cochinchine).
An Nam Đai Quoc Hoa Đo (map 1) is 44cm wide and
80cm long. Bishop Taberd published it in 1838 stating
"Paracel Seu Kát Vàng-Golden Sand" (Seu, in Latin
means "or") Paracels or Kat Vang-Golden Sand is
located in the Latin - Annam Dictionary and specified
the same geographic coordinates as present day Hoang
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Sa and in the waters of Vietnam.
(Map 1) An Nam Đai
Quoc Hoa Đo
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(Map 2) Carte des
Costes
de
Cochinchine,
Tunquin et Partie
de Celles de la
Chine (Harreveld,
E. Van Changuion,
Amsterdam, 1749)
is
drawing
coordinates,
Paracel
archipelago
stretches
from
latitude to latitude
17. 12.
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History is replete with examples where of history lead to
disastrous
mistakes,
including
war.
In human history, in almost all totalitarian regimes there
have been times when distortions of history are
deliberately fostered, but at no time have we seen
unprecedented trampling upon the historical truth as
rudely as the Chinese have done when they claimed to the
UN Commission on the Law of the Sea that they own
nearly 80% of the South China Sea and consider it as its
inland waters. Can one claim the sea based on the name
South China Sea (which to the Vietnamese is actually
called the Eastern Sea)? Wouldn't it be as bizarre as
India claiming the Indian Ocean to itself ? The argument
is as ridiculous as Wang Hanling, a Chinese scholar,
claiming that before 1885 “Vietnam had been part of
China.“ It is wrongful and damaging misconceptions like that which23
precipitate wars and do not contribute to the peace of the region or the world.
Besides the Geneva agreement of 1954 clearly defined
the territory under the 17th parallel as belonging under
the management of the southern government, later
known as the Republic of Vietnam, and this
government has never renounced sovereignty over the
Paracels-Hoang Sa and Spratlys-Truong Sa Islands.
Give Caesar, then, what belongs to Caesar.
This documentation not only provides accurate
information and brings forth historical truths, but also a
message of reason and righteousness, which is
necessary for the construction of world order. With hope
that the truth will be well received and respected by researchers,
and the scientific community as well as the legislators, and the
law makers in the United States who share a cordial relationship
and the same respect of the historical truth as the author.
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May I suggest that you send a
memorandum containing the results
of this conference to various agencies
doing research on history and
geography, such as the National
Geographic Society (USA), so that
everybody can learn about the truth,
and defend and protect the truth, which
is so useful for peace and cooperation in the world.
I wish to thank you for your attention.
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NGUYEN NHA
Email : hannguyen1940@yahoo.com
Cell : 408-724-7518
Short Biography of Nguyen Nha
Born in 1940 in the Province of Ninh Binh, Vietnam,
Nguyen Nha received his Doctorate in History from
the National University at Ho Chi Minh City in 2003.
Previously, he completed a Master ‘s degree in
Education (1973), a Bachelor’s degree in Literature
(1966) and a Bachelor’s degee in Education (1965).
He was chief editor of the Journal of History and
Geography (Tap San Su Dia) during the period 19661975 and has been chair of the research group of
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Vietnamese traditions since 1974.
During these years, he held various positions such as
the chief of the research education committee in
The Thu Duc Demonstration High School /Faculty
of Education, University of Saigon (1970-1975), head
of teaching&Learning (methodology) in History
section at the College of Education in Ho Chi Minh
City (1981-2000). He also was professor of Vietnamese
Culture and Educational Methods as well as the
Assistant to the President at the Hung Vuong
University (1996-2004).
Recently, he has served as President of the Club Ca
Tru & Hat Tho Lac Viet (previously from the Hung
Vuong University) since 2000, President of the Institute
of Vietnamese Gastronomic research (2007-2011) and The Viet
Kitchen Project for The world Administrator-in-chief .
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THE END
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