Scholars have provided a wealth of substantiated evidence empirically refuting China’s fallacious allegations claiming sovereignty over the East Sea.

A Chinese ship firing water cannons at a Vietnam Coast Guard ship near the rig illegally stationed by China inside Vietnam's exclusive economic zone

To justify its recent wrongful and inhumane actions in the East Sea, over the past few days China has intensified diplomatic efforts and communications to fabricate the truth about its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago and contingent waters.

China insists that the Paracel (called Xisha in China) was part of its territory during the Northern Song dynasty, and that it has continuously carried out activities to manage this group of islands. What is the truth behind its claim?

Chinese evidence illegal

China cites a body of historical evidence, including ancient books, which are Chinese records about the Paracel (Xisha) and Spratly (Namsa) archipelagos. In fact, these books described the results of geographical expeditions to the far-off islands.

A Chinese ship firing water cannons at a Vietnam Coast Guard ship near the rig illegally stationed by China inside Vietnam's exclusive economic zone

China even says under the reign of the Northern Song dynasty in the 10-12th centuries, Chinese navy patrolled Xisha, affirming the area was under its management.

Analysing the claim, scholars find trips to Xisha were not patrols, but geographical expeditions to the Indian Ocean. This means there was no real possession of the archipelago, let alone China’s vague claims in its documents in terms of both the content and source.

Hainan – China’s the southernmost point

All feudal Chinese dynasties, from the Han to Tang, Song and Ming, have maintained and preserved their own historical records written by a specialised agency of each regime.

Researcher Pham Hoang Quan, who has examined all relevant Chinese historical records, says all the books did not mention the Xisha or Namsa archipelagos. Book compilers also confessed that China’s southernmost point was Ya district of Qiong Zhou district, Hainan Island.

China's Foreign Ministry cites the results of astronomical measurements made during the Yuan dynasty (13-14th centuries) as saying the Xisha archipelago belonged to Chinese territory.

History books of the Yuan dynasty showed astronomical measurements were conducted in 27 places, including some areas beyond China’s boundary like Gao Li (now the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea - DPRK), Tie Le (now Siberia of Russia) and the East Sea.

If these records were considered China’s legal basis, its sovereign claim, would by logical extension, also include parts of the DPRK and Russia, alongside the East Sea.

Obviously China has deliberately falsified and misinterpreted the historical truth about its sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago, in a preposterous attempt to sway local and global public opinion by providing false and misleading information.

In fact, China has kept an eye on the Paracel archipelago since the early 20th century after the group of islands was practically managed by Vietnam three centuries earlier.

Turning black into white

China also claims its sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago, citing a trip to the islands in 1909 by Guangdong-born admiral Li Zhun who raised the flag and displayed fireworks on Yong Xing island.

In fact, in 1909 Li Zhun led a small fleet to several islands of the archipelago. However, the media in Guang Zhou province on June 20, 1909 reported that the surprise visit did not demonstrate any possession of the islands.

In addition, what Li Zhun and his fleet did was illegal, because the Paracel belonged to Vietnam several centuries earlier and it was then defended by the French expeditionary army representing the Vietnamese state.

Monique Chemillier Gendreau, Professor of International Law at l'Université de Paris VII, Denis Diderot, France, says China has long known that the East Sea has groups of scattered islands, but it has no sufficient legal basis to defend the argument that it was the first to discover, explore and manage the two archipelagos [Paracel and Spratly].

“China presented documents proving that it had found these archipelagos for a long time. Legally, I can assure you that China did not give any persuasive evidence,” she says.

“China later claimed its sovereignty over the Paracel in 1909 and the Spratly after World War II. Meanwhile, Vietnam has a host of important and convincing evidence legally clarifying its long and constant management over the two groups of islands.”

Deliberately falsifying evidence and misinterpreting the historical truth, China is trying to convince its citizens and the world of its so-called ‘long sovereignty’ over the Paracel.

However, China cannot conceal the truth, trying to turn black into white. At the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Wang Guanzhong, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army of China, and Fu Ying, chairwoman of the National People’s Congress’ Foreign Affairs Committee, could not justify China’s wrongful acts in the East Sea.

In contrary, Vietnam has sufficient historical evidence and legal foundations to proclaim its undisputable sovereignty over the Paracel archipelago. The country has exploited and protected its rights in the archipelago since the 17th century, when it was a derelict land and uninterruptedly managed.

According to Dr Tran Cong Truc, former head of the Government Committee on Border Affairs, Vietnamese evidence shows the Vietnamese state possessed and exercised its sovereign right in the two archipelagos centuries ago. All the documents give a detail prescription of the operation of Vietnamese flotillas to the Paracel.

When France invaded Vietnam [in 1858], it signed a treaty with the Vietnamese regime under which it represented the Vietnamese state in foreign affairs, including exercising its sovereign right in the two archipelagos.

France issued decisions to establish administrative bodies, an observatory, a meteorological station and other works on the islands.

This means Vietnam possessed the islands long before China landed on them, refuting its groundless sovereignty claims over the archipelago.