In the postwar years, Vietnam has continued to protest China’s seizure of the Paracel Islands and maintains its claim to those islands and much of the Spratly Islands as well. 1970 – China occupies Amphitrite Group of the Paracel Islands All were in poor condition, suffering a variety of engineering and weapons problems that limited their speed and firepower.After their arrival on Jan. 16, the South Vietnamese vessels quickly drove off the Chinese fishermen. France, a colonial power in Vietnam since 1858, established its claim on the Paracels and the nearby Spratly Islands in 1932 but wasn’t initially concerned about actually occupying them. 1970s. The SEALs on Money Island abandoned their positions before the Chinese navy initiated its assault and avoided capture for several days.By late evening Jan. 20, all of the Paracel Archipelago was in Chinese hands. China’s South Sea Fleet scrambled, putting together a patchwork force of all units that could get underway: a frigate, five torpedo boats and eight small patrol boats. By 1967, the South Vietnamese presence had been reduced to a single weather service station. Communist North Vietnam still needed China’s support to reconstitute its forces for the final assault to take control of South Vietnam. More than 2 million scientists, engineers, educators, skilled workers and administrators were imprisoned or killed, including those who built and maintained the country’s ships and the rail systems that delivered material to the shipyards.Consequently, the Chinese navy’s best warships, the Type 065 destroyers, were unable to get underway at all. China seemed to accept the status quo.Two developments in the 1970s changed the dynamics in the South China Sea. First, fishing boats enter the disputed area, some of which are armed Maritime Militia trawlers that drive away the competition. The latest Chinese activity, however, was the start of a new phase in an effort to seize all of the Paracels. Mao ordered a series of steps to pressure South Vietnam to abandon the Paracels.Oblivious to Beijing’s intentions, Saigon declared its administrative control over the Crescent Group in August 1973 and one month later authorized contracts to explore the surrounding waters for oil. The first incursions of the Chinese fishing fleet had occurred in late July.
Japan annexed the Paracel and Spratly islands in 1941, claiming they were part of Japanese-occupied Taiwan.After the U.S. atomic bomb drops on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945, Japan started removing its forces from the islands, completing the withdrawal by the end of August. Two Shenyang J-6 fighter planes (Chinese copies of the Soviet MiG-19) provided air cover for the subchasers but lacked the range to remain overhead after the ships arrived on scene the evening of Jan. 17.At dawn on Jan. 18, the Chinese ships landed one Maritime Militia platoon on Drummond Island, another on Palm Island and two platoons on Duncan Island. On Jan. 18, the two frigates rammed a Chinese fishing trawler, No. Article 2 of the Treaty of Tientsin (1885) forced China to stop any claims to suzerainty all over Vietnam. The 271 was fresh out of the yards and had to yet to finish its sea trials, while the 274’s diesel engines’ poor condition precluded speeds above 18 knots. But instead of deterring a Japanese move into the South China Sea, the French occupation of the Paracels provoked Japan, which landed a small naval infantry unit on Woody Island in 1938 just months after the French occupation. The SEALs withdrew to their boats under heavy fire as the South Vietnamese naval units formed a line abreast and advanced toward the Chinese formation, firing on the enemy’s pilot houses and maneuvering to turn the engagement into a battle of long-range guns. “Battle of the Paracel Islands was a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam in the Paracel Islands on January 19, 1974. The SEALs withdrew to their boats under heavy fire as the South Vietnamese naval units formed a line abreast and advanced toward the Chinese formation, firing on the enemy’s pilot houses and maneuvering to turn the engagement into a battle of long-range guns. After unifying the country in April 1975, Hanoi quickly occupied the islands held by South Vietnam in the Spratly chain. In 1956 the PLA reestablished a Chinese garrison on Yongxing Island in the Paracels, while the On January 17, about 30 South Vietnamese commandos waded ashore unopposed on Robert Island and removed the Chinese flag they found flying.