LEGEND:

BASNILLO

CHUA

ESTRERA

ESCRAMAN

FELARCA

TABALBA

VERDIJO

19th century- Europeans found that Chinese fishermen from Hainan annually
sojourned on the Spratly islands for part of the year.
1870- British naval captain James George Meads established the micronation The
Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads.
1883- When the Spratlys and Paracels were being surveyed by Germany in 1883,
China issued protests against them.
1887- The 1887 Chinese-Vietnamese Boundary convention signed between France
and China after the Sino-French War said that China was the owner of the Spratly
and Paracel islands.
1900- Colonial French Indochina asserted that the state Bac Hai Company had
exercised Vietnam's sovereignty in the Spratlys since the 18th century.
1927- The French ship SS De Lanessan conducted a scientific survey of the Spratly
Islands.

1930- France launched a second expedition with the La Malicieuse, which raised the
French flag on an island called le de la Tempte. Chinese fishermen were present on
the island, but the French made no attempt to expel them.
1933- Three French ships took control of nine of the largest islands and declared
French sovereignty over the archipelago to the great powers including the UK, US,
China and Japan, according to the principles found in the Berlin convention. France
administered the area as part of Cochinchina.
Japanese companies applied to the French authority in Cochichina for phosphate
mining licenses in the Spratlys.

1939- The Empire of Japan disputed French sovereignty over the islands, citing that
Japan was the first country to discover the islands. Japan declared its intention to
place the island group under its jurisdiction. France and the United Kingdom
protested and reasserted French sovereignty claims.
1941- Japan forcibly occupied the island group and remained in control until the
end of World War II, administering the area as part of Taiwan.
A Japanese submarine base was established on Itu Aba Island.

1945- After Japan's surrender at the end of World War II, the Republic of China
claimed the Paracel and Spratly Islands. The Republic of China sent troops to Itu Aba
Island; forces erected sovereignty markers and named it Taiping Island.
1946- France dispatched warships to the islands several times, but no attempts
were made to evict Chinese forces.

1947- China produced a map with 9 undefined dotted lines, and claimed all of the
islands within those lines. France demanded the Chinese withdraw from the islands.
1948- France ceased maritime patrols near the islands and China withdrew most of
its troops.
1951- At the 1951 San Francisco Conference on the Peace Treaty with Japan, the
Soviet Union proposed that the Spratlys belonged to China. This was
overwhelmingly rejected by the delegates. The delegates from Vietnam, which at
that time was a French protectorate, declared sovereignty over the Paracel and the
Spratly Islands, which was not opposed by any delegate at the conference. China
did not attend the conference and was not a signatory of the treaty.
1956- On June 15, 1956, Vice-Foreign Minister Un Van Khiem of the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam received Li Zhimin, Chare d'Affaires ad interim of the Chinese
Embassy in Vietnam, and told him that, "according to Vietnamese data, the Xisha
and Nansha Islands are historically part of Chinese territory." Le Loc, Acting Director
of the Asian Department of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry was present and
specifically cited Vietnamese data and pointed out that "judging from history, these
islands were already part of China at the time of the Song dynasty."

1956- Tomas Cloma, director of the Maritime Institute of the Philippines, claimed
sovereignty over the northwestern two-thirds of the Spratly Islands, naming his
territory "Kalaya'an" ("Freedomland"). The People's Republic of China, the Republic
of China, France, South Vietnam, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands all issued
protests. The Republic of China and South Vietnam launched naval units to the
islands, though South Vietnam left no permanent garrison. Later in the year, South
Vietnam declared its annexation of the Spratly Islands as part of its Phc Tuy
Province.
1958- The People's Republic of China issued a declaration defining its territorial
waters which encompassed the Spratly Islands. North Vietnam's prime minister,
Phm Vn ng, sent a formal note to Zhou Enlai, stating that the Government of
the Democratic Republic of Vietnam respects the decision on the 12 nautical mile
limit of territorial waters. Both the South Vietnamese government and the
communist revolutionary movement in South Vietnam continued to assert that the
Spratlys belonged to Vietnam.

196163- South Vietnam established sovereignty markers on several islands in the

chain.
1968- The Philippines sent troops to three islands on the premise of protecting
Kalayaan citizens, and announced the annexation of the Kalayaan island group.
1971- Malaysia issued claims to some of the Spratly Islands.
1972- The Philippines incorporated the Kalayaan islands into its Palawan province.
1975- The unified Vietnam declared claims over the Spratly Islands.
1978- A presidential decree from the Philippines outlined territorial claims to the
Kalayaan portion of the islands.

1979- Malaysia published a map of its continental shelf claim, which includes
twelve islands from the Spratly group.
Vietnam published a white paper outlining its claims to the islands and disputing
those of the other claimants.

1982- Vietnam published another white paper, occupied several of the islands and
constructed military installations.
The Philippines occupied several more islands and constructed an air strip.

1983- Malaysia occupied Swallow Reef (Layang Layang), in the south of the Spratly
Islands. A naval base and diving resort was later built at this location on reclaimed
land.
1984- Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone encompassing the Louisa Reef
and neighbouring areas in the southeastern Spratly Islands.
1986- The first Philippine-Vietnam Joint Marine Scientific Research Expedition in the
South China Sea was conducted aboard the RPS Explorer.
1987- The People's Republic of China conducted naval patrols in the Spratly Islands
and established a permanent base.

1988- PRC warships and Vietnamese transport ships clashed at the South Johnson
Reef. Over 70 Vietnamese were killed and two Vietnamese transport ships were
sunk. The PRC gained control of some of the Spratly reefs.
1994- People's Republic of China (PRC), Malaysia, and the Philippines sign the
UNCLOS. History as a legal basis is now not accepted.
1995- The Philippine government revealed that a PRC military structure was being
built at the Mischief Reef. Philippine President Fidel Ramos ordered increased patrols
of the Philippine-controlled areas; the incident lead to numerous arrests of Chinese
fishermen and naval clashes with PLAN vessels.
1999- A Philippine World-War-II-vintage vessel (LT 57 Sierra Madre) ran aground on
the Second Thomas Shoal. Despite initial PRC demands for its removal, and
subsequent PRC offers for its free removal, the vessel remains aground on the reef.
2008- Taiwan's President became the first head of state from the claimant countries
to visit the Spratly islands. His visit sparked criticism from other claimants.
2009- The Office of the Philippine President enacted the "Philippine Baselines Law
of 2009" (RA 9522). The law classifies the Kalayaan Island Group and the
Scarborough Shoal as a "regime of islands under the Republic of the Philippines."
This means that the Philippines continues to lay claim over the disputed islands.
In May, two submissions were made to the UN's Commission on the Limits of the
Continental Shelf (CLCS): a joint submission by Malaysia and Vietnam claims
jurisdiction over their respective continental shelves out to 200 nautical miles; a
submission by Vietnam claims jurisdiction over an extended shelf area. The People's
Republic of China and the Philippines both protested the moves stating that they
violated agreements made with regards to the islands.

2011- On 18 May 2011, China Mobile announced that its mobile phone coverage
had expanded to the Spratly Islands, under the rationale that it can allow soldiers
stationed on the islands, fishermen and merchant vessels within the area to use
mobile services, and can also provide assistance during storms and sea rescues.
The deployment of China Mobile's support over the islands took roughly one year to
fulfil.
In May, PRC patrol boats attacked and cut the cables of Vietnamese oil exploration
ships near the Spratly Islands. The incidents sparked several anti-China protests in
Vietnam.

In June, the PLA navy conducted three days of exercises, including live fire drills, in
the disputed waters. This was widely seen as a warning to Vietnam, which had also
conducted live fire drills near the Spratly Islands. PRC patrol boats fired repeated
rounds at a target on an apparently uninhabited island, as twin fighter jets streaked
in tandem overhead. 14 vessels participated in the manoeuvres, staging
antisubmarine and beach landing drills aimed at "defending atolls and protecting
sea lanes."

2012- On 11 July 2012, a Chinese Type 053 frigate Dongguan ran aground on PRC
controlled Mischief Reef, sparking embarrassment for the Chinese government and
causing an awkward diplomatic situation. The ship was later towed back to base.
2014- On 6 May 2014, Philippines police arrested 11 Chinese turtle poachers on
board the Qiongqionghai near Half Moon Shoal.
2015- On 20 May 2015, the Chinese navy sternly warned the United States P8-A
Poseidon, on a surveillance flight over the Fiery Cross Reef, to leave the "Chinese
military alert zone".[85] The Pentagon released a video recording of the challenge
to CNN amid "growing momentum within the Pentagon and White House for taking
concrete steps" in the region.
2016- On 16 February 2016, the imagery from Image Sat International (ISI) shows
that Chinese military has deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system to
one of its contested islands in the South China Sea. It appears to show the HQ-9 air
defense system, which closely resembles Russias S-300 missile system. The HQ-9
has a range of 125 miles, which would pose a threat to any airplanes, civilians or
military, flying close by.