Construction on a tomb for Pham Van Nhat, Captain of the Hoang Sa Flotilla, who led naval forces on multiple occasions to defend Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago nearly 200 years ago, began on April 4 in An Vinh commune, Ly Son island district, central Quang Ngai province.

In the 17th year of the Minh Mang reign (1836), Nhat was assigned to lead boats to survey, plant milestones and erect steles of sovereignty on Hoang Sa. He died at sea in 1854 during a trip to the archipelago.

The Pham Van family dug a symbolic grave for the captain in An Vinh village.

For his contributions, Nhat’s name has been given to an island of Hoang Sa archipelago.

Lying in an area of 60 square metres in the Hoang Sa relic complex, the new tomb will cost 100 million VND sourced from the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The construction manifests the present generation’s gratitude to soldiers who contributed greatly to protecting the archipelago while teaching courage and patriotism to young people.

The Pham Van family is one of more than 40 families in Ly Son that provided manpower to naval defence squads that sailed to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa under royal orders to exploit resources and plant territorial markers to affirm the country’s sovereignty.-VNA