Vietnamese soldiers protect the country's sea and island sovereignty (Photo: VNA)According to Dr. Tran Duc Anh Son, a well-knownresearcher in the field, French Navy sailor Jean Baptiste Chaigneau wrote inhis memoir Le mesmoire sur la Cochinchine that Hoang Sa was an uninhabitedisland until Emperor Gia Long, the first King of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945)declared sovereignty in 1816.
The Journal of an Embassy from theGovernor-General of India to the Courts of Siam and Cochinchina by latediplomat John Crawfurd, published in 1830 in London, also includes lines sayingthat the emperor in 1816 took over the Paracel, which was then under no disputeover its sovereignty.
The book Die Erdkunde von Asien by Calt Ritter,published in Berlin in 1834, said the same, adding that neighbouring countries,including China, did not dispute the sovereignty declaration over Paracel bythe emperor.
The Nguyen Dynasty’s Dai Nam Thuc Luc (GreatSouth Real Record) in 1816 recorded that the emperor sent a royal marine troopto monitor and undertake measuring work on Hoang Sa. Dai Nam is the former nameof Vietnam.
Son said Vietnam’s sovereignty over thearchipelago has been clear since over 200 years ago.
Professor Nguyen Quang Ngoc, deputy chairman ofthe Vietnam Scientific History Association, said royal documents issued by theNguyen Dynasty presented details of the work and contributions of localities,including central coastal provinces of Thua Thien – Hue, Quang Ngai and BinhThuan, for protecting the archipelago, and these also served as evidence ofVietnam’s sovereignty.
The researchers gathered for a seminar on theissue where they pledged to research more old documents from Japan, theRepublic of Korea, and China related to the archipelago in an attempt topresent an accurate picture of the East Sea dispute to citizens around theworld.-VNA
VNA
