VietNamNet Bridge – The Hoang Sa District People’s Committee will display a shipwreck that was rammed by Chinese boats in Vietnamese waters off the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago at the city’s Hoang Sa Museum.

All ours: An image of Hoang Sa Island is displayed at an exhibition at Da Nang Museum. Photo courtesy of Da Nang Museum

An official from the district, Le Phu Nguyen told Viet Nam News on Sunday that the shipwreck (fishing trawler DNa TS 90152), hit by Chinese ships in 2014 and then salvaged and brought to Tho Quang shipyard, will be placed in the yard of the under construction Hoang Sa Museum in Son Tra Peninsula.

Nguyen said the city’s People’s Committee and People’s Council agreed to reserve a 500sq.m location to display the shipwreck as evidence of the attack by Chinese ships on Vietnamese fishing vessels in Viet Nam’s sovereign waters.

The shipwreck display is scheduled to be launched this September at the same time as the inauguration of the Hoang Sa Museum on Hoang Sa Road, according to Nguyen.

Nguyen also said the shipwreck will lure tourists and local residents to study Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago history with vintage documents, photos and objects from Viet Nam’s islands.

In 2015, the city started construction on Hoang Sa Museum, inspired by the design of a 1835-made seal from the Nguyen Dynasty’s King Minh Mang for the Hoang Sa Flotilla.

The district’s People’s Committee said the seal shows Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes.

The museum will store and display collections of artefacts and documents on Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly islands.

According to Hoang Sa District, a collection of 95 maps published between 1626 and 1980, 10 of which indicate that the Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes belong to Viet Nam, and 102 books published in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and the Han Chinese script will be displayed. Many maps in the exhibition also indicate that the frontier of Southern China is Hainan Island and that Paracel belongs to Viet Nam.

Many domestic and overseas Vietnamese collectors have donated old maps and documents related to Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes.

Many ancient maps and documents published during the Ming and Qing dynasties between the 16th and early 20th century show that China’s borders did not include the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) islands.

In January, the Hoang Sa District People’s Committee held a meeting of 12 people who lived, worked and protected the Hoang Sa from 1959-1974.

Hoang Sa was illegally occupied by Chinese forces on January 19, 1974.

The city has set aside 128,543ha for the development of Hoang Sa District, including the Hoang Sa (Paracel), following the Prime Minister’s decision on the city’s adjusted master urban plan for 2030 and 2050.

The Hoang Sa District’s People’s Committee hopes to include two fishing precincts, Tho Quang and Man Thai, in Hoang Sa Island District.

Disgraceful: A hole left on one side of fishing ship DNa TS 90152 after being hit by a Chinese ship off the Hoang Sa Archipelago. Photos: Cong Thanh/VNS   Memorial: A shipwreck of fishing trawler DNa TS 90152, which was rammed by a Chinese ship off the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago of Viet Nam in 2014, will be displayed at Hoang Sa Museum this September.  Sovereignty education: A plan of the Hoang Sa Museum which is under construction in Da Nang City.

Source: VNS