Thayer Consultancy

ABN # 65 648 097 123

Background Brief South China Sea: Memorializing the 1974 Battle of the Paracels Carlyle A. Thayer January 13, 2014

[client name deleted] The Vietnamese media has written quite a lot about the 1974 Paracel Battle lately. Apart from the war issue, do you think it is fair to say this is a move that can contribute to the process of consolidating Vietnam's territorial claims? Can this tendency eventually raise the danger of violence in the South China Sea? ANSWER: There has been a noticeable increase in Vietnamese reporting on the 1974 Paracels conflict. Dr. Nguyen Nha, who recently spoke in Sydney, gave an interview in which he advocated recognition for the martyrs of that battle. There have been similar calls within Vietnam. The Vietnamese government is on somewhat shaky grounds. It relies on the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) and its successor, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG RSVN), to speak to Vietnam's historical claims to sovereignty over the Paracels. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN)/Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) as the successor state is deemed to have inherited these historical claims. The DRVN was silent whent he events of 1974 took place. Raising of the profile of the 1974 Paracel conflict has more to do with shoring up domestic legitimacy by undercutting the overseas Vietnamese supporters of the RVN who, of course, memorialize this battle. The present government's claims to sovereignty to the Paracel Islands is well established. Government spokespersons repeatedly criticize any action by China that would enhance China's sovereignty over the Paracels. It is the reported instigation of Vietnamese authorities encouraging Vietnamese fishermen to fish in the waters around the Paracels that could lead to conflict. Fishing incidents around the Paracels appear to have declined over the last two years, last year in particular - if public reporting of these incidents by Vietnam is accurate. To be sure there have been a few high profile cases, even this year. But overall Vietnam and China seem to be trying to manage this situation under their jointly agreed Fundamental Principles to Guide the Settlement of Maritime Disputes and the setting up of hot lines between agricultural ministries following Premier Li Keqiang's visit last year.

2 Note the significance of remarks by Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in Hainan, that Hainan province's new regulations are aimed at and will be enforced primarily in the territorial waters around the Paracels. While Vietnam would claim these waters are disputed, Wu's remarks greatly reduce the maritime space that was claimed when the regulations were issued. Nonetheless, the new regulations and their enforcement will create incidents involving Vietnamese fishermen. Wu also noted that Chinese authorities would first force foreign fishing vessels from Chinese waters and if they refuse to leave or resist they will be boarded and seized as a last resort. Most official publications from Hanoi (National Boundary Commission [2012] and Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation) stop their chronology well before 1974. A publication by Bo Ngoai Giao, Uy Ban Bien Gioi Quoc Gia (2013), Chu Quyen cua Viet Nam Doi Voi Hai Quan Dao Hoang Sa va Truong Sa, however, states: "On January 19th, 1974, the military forces of the People's Republic of China occupied the southwestern islands of Hoang Sa archipelago. It should be noted that his part of Hoang Sa archipelago was under Sai Gon Administration control until 1974. This violation of Viet Nam's territorial integrity was condemned on the same day by the Sai Gon Administration. On January 26th, 1974, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Viet Nam declared its three-point position on the solution for territorial disputes; and on February 14th, 1974 re-affirmed Viet Nam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes." This account goes on to provide examples where the PRG RSVN affirmed its sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes at various international meetings. Then, "after the country's reunification, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam promulgated many important legal documents on its maritime zones and Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes. DRVN did not protest in 1974 ostensibly because sovereignty resided with South Vietnam.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, South China Sea: Memorializing the 1974 Battle of the Paracels, Thayer Consultancy Background Brief, January 13, 2014. All background briefs are posted on Scribd.com (search for Thayer). To remove yourself from the mailing list type UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject heading and hit the Reply key. Thayer Consultancy provides political analysis of current regional security issues and other research support to selected clients. Thayer Consultancy was officially registered as a small business in Australia in 2002.