Battle of the Paracel Islands

Introduction

The Battle of the Paracel Islands (Chinese: Xishahai Battle, Pinyin: Xisha Haizhan, Vietnamese: Hải chiến Hoàng Sa) was a military engagement between Chinese and South Vietnamese navies in the Paracel Islands on January 19, 1974. An attempt by the South Vietnamese navy to drive the Chinese navy out of the neighborhood. Conflicts erupted towards the end of the Vietnam War.

Before the conflict, part of the Paracel Islands was controlled by China and another part by South Vietnam. As a result of the fighting, China occupied South Vietnam and established de facto complete control over the Paracel Islands.

Background

The Paracel Islands, called the Xisha Islands (Xīshā QúndƎo) in Chinese and the Hoang Sa Islands (Quần Đảo Hoàng Sa) in Vietnamese, are located in the South China Sea approximately equidistant (200 nautical miles) from the coastlines of China and Vietnam. increase. 370 km). Ownership of the islands, free of indigenous peoples, has been disputed since the early 20th century.

The Treaty of Saigon of 1874 effectively made Vietnam a protectorate of France. This led to the conflict between France and China in 1884-85. The Treaty on the Demarcation of the Borders between China and Tonkin was signed between France and China on June 26, 1887, assigning islands east of the eastern tip of Traco Island (21°30’N, 108°4’E) rice field. This point is on the north-south line far west of the Paracel Islands. Despite the ambiguity of the treaty, Chinese authorities interpret it as granting China ownership and control over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. 389

In a letter dated 4 May 1919 from the French Consul in Guangdong to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, the Consul said: A case in which the British government’s claim for reparations against the Chinese government arising from the shipwreck in the Paracel Islands was denied by the Chinese government “precisely because the Paracel Islands are not part of the Chinese Empire”.

In 1932, the year after Imperial Japan invaded northeastern China, France formally claimed both the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Both China and Japan protested. In 1933, France strengthened its claim by occupying the Paracel and Spratly Islands, announcing their annexation and officially incorporating them into French Indochina. They built some weather stations on it.

In 1938, Japan seized these islands from France, garrisoned them, and built a submarine base on Itu Aba (now Taiping Island/Taiping Island). In 1941, the Empire of Japan made the Paracel and Spratly Islands part of Taiwan and placed it under its control.

In 1945, pursuant to the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration, with U.S. assistance, the ROC forces accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrison on Taiwan, including the Paracel and Spratly Islands, and declared them part of the islands. of Guangdong. In 1946, the ROC established garrisons on both Woody Island (now Yongxing Island/Yongxing Island) in the Paracel Islands and Taiping Island in the Spratly Islands. France immediately protested.

After an unsuccessful attempt to drive Chinese Kuomintang forces from Yongxing Island (the only habitable island in the Paracel Islands), the French set up a small camp on Patreu Island (now Shanhu/Coral Island) in the southwestern part of the archipelago.

Chinese nationalists were driven out of Hainan by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and the Republic of China withdrew both the Paracel and Spratly garrisons to Taiwan. When France withdrew from Indochina in 1954, recognizing the independence of both North and South Vietnam, France was no longer a factor.

In 1956, while the Republic of China (Taiwan) stationed troops on Taiping Island, the PLA reestablished a Chinese garrison on Yongxing Island. That same year, South Vietnam announced that it had reestablished an abandoned French camp on Patreu Island and annexed the Paracel and Spratly Islands. By 1966, South Vietnam had reduced its presence in the Paracel Islands to just one meteorological station on Patreu Island to focus on its war with the North. The PLA made no attempt to eliminate this unit.

In 1958 North Vietnam sent a diplomatic note to: China acknowledged and approved the declaration by China defining China’s territorial waters. One of the English translations of this memo reads: “The Vietnamese government has endorsed the Declaration, which aims to ensure strict respect for China’s territorial sea, which is set at 12 nautical miles, in all its maritime relations with China.” I will give coordinated instructions to the agencies.”

Prelude

On January 16, 1974, six South Vietnamese officers and an American observer from the frigate Ly Thuong Kiet (HQ16) were sent to inspect the Paracel Islands. They found two Chinese “armored trawlers” anchored off Drummond Island to support the PLA detachment that had occupied the island. Chinese soldiers were also seen around bunkers on nearby Duncan Island, a landing craft anchored off the coast, and two Kronstadt-class submarine chasers nearby. This was immediately reported to Saigon and several naval vessels were dispatched to confront the Chinese ships in the area.

A South Vietnamese Navy frigate signaled the Chinese squadron to withdraw, but received similar demands in return. The opposing forces watched each other throughout the night but did not engage.

On January 17, about 30 South Vietnamese Special Forces landed on Robert Island unopposed and removed the Chinese flag. Both sides then received reinforcements. The frigate Tran Khanh Du (HQ4) joined Ly Thuong Kiet (HQ16), and two PLA Navy minesweepers (#274 and #271) joined the Chinese side.

On 18 January, the frigate Tran Binh Trong (HQ5) arrived carrying Colonel Ha Van Nhac, commander of the South Vietnamese Fleet. The corvette, Nhat Tao (HQ-10), also had only one working engine at the time, and moved carefully to reach the island.

Balance of forces

Four ships from the South Vietnamese Navy, the frigates Trần Bình Trọng [1] Lý Thường Kiệt [2] and Trần Khánh Dư [3] and the corvette Nhật Tảo [4], were to participate in the battle. A platoon of South Vietnamese Navy SEALs, an underwater bombing team, and a regular ARVN platoon were stationed on the islands at this time.

China also stationed four warships: PLA Navy minesweepers 271, 274, 389, and 396. These were old and small warships, averaging 49 meters (161 ft) long and 6 meters (20 ft) wide, but well maintained. By the end of the battle they were reinforced by two Type 037 submarine pursuers (281 and 282). In addition, two battalions of PLA Marines and an undetermined number of irregular militiamen had landed on the island. The PLAAF 48th Air Division provided some air support.

Both sides engaged four ships, but the South Vietnamese ships had superior displacement and armament. PLA Navy support and reinforcement forces did not participate in the fighting.

Military engagement

In the early morning hours of January 19, 1974, Tran Binh Trong’s South Vietnamese soldiers landed on Duncan Island and came under artillery fire by Chinese forces. Three South Vietnamese soldiers were killed and more wounded. Finding themselves outnumbered, the South Vietnamese ground forces withdrew in landing craft, but a small fleet approached the Chinese warships in a tense confrontation.

At 10:22 a.m., the South Vietnamese warships Ly Tuong Kiet (HQ16) and Nhat Tao (HQ10) moved into the battle zone, immediately followed by Tran Binh Trong (HQ5) and Tran Khanh Du (HQ4). At 10:24 am, HQ10 and HQ-16 opened fire on the Chinese warships. It was later joined by HQ-4 and HQ-5. h

After a few minutes, both HQ4 and HQ-5 ceased firing and moved away from the combat area due to “shooting concerns”. HQ16 was severely damaged by friendly fire from HQ5 (commanded by Colonel Ha Van Ngac) and was tipped out of action. HQ16’s commanding officer, Le Van Thu, also suspected that HQ10 might have been damaged by HQ4 and HQ5.

The battle lasted about 40 minutes and both ships were damaged. The smaller Chinese warships managed to break through the blind spots of the South Vietnamese ships’ main guns, damaging all four South Vietnamese ships, most notably HQ-10, which was unable to retreat because its last working engine failed.

The crew was ordered to abandon ship, but the captain, Lieutenant Colonel Nguy Van Tha, remained on board and sank with the ship. Ly Thuong Kiet was badly damaged by friendly fire from Tran Binh Trong and was forced to withdraw westward. Tran Khanh Du and Tran Binh Trong soon joined the withdrawal.

The next day, Chinese aircraft from Hainan bombed three islands and made amphibious landings. The outnumbered Marine garrison of the South Vietnam Islands was forced to surrender and the damaged naval vessels retreated to Da Nang Island.

During the battle, the South Vietnamese fleet spotted two more Chinese warships rushing to the area. China later confirmed that these were Hainan-class submarine pursuers 281 and 282. Despite South Vietnamese reports that at least one of their ships had been hit by missiles, China claimed what it saw was a rocket-propelled grenade fired by its crew. Information from #389, there was no ship capable of carrying missiles, and the Chinese ships approached because they did not have missiles. The South Vietnamese fleet also received an alert that US Navy radar detected additional Chinese guided-missile frigates and aircraft en route from Hainan.

South Vietnam requested assistance from the U.S. 7th Fleet, but the request was denied.

Result

After this battle, China gained control of the entire Paracel Islands. South Vietnam protested to the UN, but China has veto power in the UN Security Council, blocking any efforts to raise the issue. The remote islands were of little military value, but diplomatically the power projection was beneficial to China.

= South Vietnamese casualties =

The South Vietnamese side reported that the warship Nhat Tao was sunk, Ly Thuong Kiet was heavily damaged, and Tran Khanh Du and Tran Binh Trong were lightly damaged. 53 ARVN soldiers were killed and 16 wounded, including Captain Nguy Van Tha of Nhat Tao. On January 20, 1974, the Dutch tanker Copionera found and rescued 23 survivors of the sunken Nhat Tao. On January 29, 1974, South Vietnamese fishermen found 15 South Vietnamese soldiers fleeing in lifeboats after fighting on Quang Hoa Island near Mui Yen (Qui Nhon). After a successful amphibious attack on 20 January, the Chinese took 48 prisoners, including an American adviser.[5] They were later released in Hong Kong through the Red Cross.

= Chinese casualties =

The Chinese side insisted that none of its ships were sunk, despite repeated attacks. Warships 271 and 396 suffered slowing damage to their engines, but both returned safely to port and were repaired. 274 was further extensively damaged and had to stop at Yongxing Island for emergency repairs. They returned to Hainan on their own the next day, but Unit 389 suffered the most damage from an engine room explosion. The captain managed to run the ship aground and put out the fire with the help of a minesweeper. It was then towed to base. Eighteen Chinese sailors were killed and 67 wounded in the battle.

= Aftermath =

A potential diplomatic crisis was averted by China’s release of American prisoners of war it had taken during the fighting. Former U.S. Army Captain Gerald Emil Coche, 27, was captured on Patol Island along with South Vietnamese forces. He was allegedly a “regional liaison officer” at the US Embassy in Saigon on a South Vietnamese naval mission. China released him from custody without comment on January 31, but North Vietnamese leaders conspicuously failed to congratulate their allies, a glimpse of worsening relations with China. An official communiqué issued by the provisional revolutionary government of the Republic of South Vietnam only mentioned a desire for a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the local territorial dispute. After the battle, North Vietnam’s undersecretary of foreign affairs, Nguyen Qu Tac, told the Hungarian ambassador to Hanoi, “There are many documents and data in the Vietnamese archipelago.” Other North Vietnamese officials told Hungarian diplomats that, in their view, the conflict between China and the Saigon regime was only temporary. However, they later said that the problem is the problem of the Vietnamese people as a whole.

After the unification of Vietnam in April 1975, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam publicly renewed its claim to the Paracel Islands, a dispute that continues to this day. Hanoi praised the South Vietnamese army for taking part in the battle.

References

Chemillier-Jandreau, Monique (2021). Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Brill. ISBN 9789004479425.

External links

Battle summary by Vietnamese officers Official documents of the Republic of Vietnam Army regarding the 1974 Paracel Battle Paracel Islands dispute Document Collection on the Paracel and Spratly Islands by Nguyen Thai Hoc Foundation, archived in Wayback Machine on 6 August 2013 GlobalSecurity.org

Academic Accelerator

Related Topic:

The 1974 Paracels Sea Battle: A Campaign Appraisal

I strongly recommend this brilliant piece by my CMSI colleague Toshi Yoshihara in the latest issue of Naval War College Review! He provides a brilliant assessment of China’s use of  conventional and irregular forces, including two maritime militia trawlers, in hybrid warfare. Definitely a must-read! Scan the first two paragraphs below, and you’ll see why immediately…Toshi Yoshihara, “The 1974 Paracels Sea Battle: A Campaign Appraisal,” Naval War College Review 69.2 (Spring 2016): 41-65.