The South China Sea is the most oil-rich region in China and is known as the "Second Persian Gulf". However, this area is also one of the most complex areas for China.
Due to the large number of neighboring countries, some of which even have a hostile attitude towards China, provocations often occur in the South China Sea.
At the end of August 2023, despite repeated warnings from China, the United States insisted on holding the "Hailang" joint landing exercise with the Philippines, which increased tensions in the South China Sea.
Japan has always adhered to a foreign policy of resolutely safeguarding territorial sovereignty and integrity, and therefore will not sit idly by and watch the provocative actions of the Philippines. Eventually, we took action and pushed back the Philippines and forced the United States to change the targets of the joint exercise.
The South China Sea has always been an important territory of our country, and as early as the end of the 80s of the last century, there was a territorial crisis, and this time the aggressor was replaced by Vietnam.
In the face of a direct armed conflict over maritime sovereignty, Admiral ** decisively instructed: "Resolutely fight!" "This reflects our country's resolute defense of our territorial sovereignty, and any attempt to infringe on our territory will be duly reciprocated.
On the afternoon of February 18, 1988, the Chinese Navy and the Vietnamese Navy clashed near Huayang Reef. Huayang Reef is located at the junction of China and Vietnam in the South China Sea and is part of Chinese waters.
We sent motorized boats to land, while the Vietnamese army used non-powered rubber boats. Lin Mingshu, a soldier of our army, and others took the lead in ascending to the commanding heights of the islands and reefs, pointed to the sovereignty stele erected by our country, and loudly reprimanded the invading Vietnamese troops, claiming that Huayang Reef is China's territory and that the trespassers will face the consequences of fighting back by force.
In the face of our army's tough attitude, although the Vietnamese army did not dare to land on the island, they planted the Vietnamese flag in the shallow waters of the reef, indicating that they had not given up the fight for Huayang Reef. However, China resolutely upholds its territorial integrity and will not tolerate any provocations.
When the minesweeper No. 851 gradually disappeared from view, Lin Mingshu and others understood that this battle had not come to an end, and Vietnam must have new moves. Hurriedly set up a stilt house to protect from wind and waves, and the soldiers immediately rushed back to the unit to report the situation in case the Vietnamese army invaded again.
Why, then, would Vietnam blatantly ignore China's territorial sovereignty to compete for reefs in the South China Sea? This goes back to a United Nations expedition. At the end of the 60s, China's lawful seat in the United Nations had not yet been restored.
With the consent of the Taiwan authorities, the United Nations organized a scientific expedition from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea, which was called "exploring the world's available resources for the benefit of mankind." However, the results of the expedition shocked the entire United Nations.
The abundance of resources on the seabed in the South China Sea is astonishing, including large amounts of oil and gas, as well as precious phosphates and sulfides. The unique seabed structure makes it less difficult to mine than ordinary sea areas, and it is very feasible.
This sea area, which was once unknown, has now become the target of competition among Southeast Asian countries. In particular, how can Southeast Asia's neighbors stand idly by in the face of resources at their fingertips?
And Britain and the United States and other countries far away from the South China Sea, although tempted, have no legitimate reason. They secretly plot to incite other countries to have disputes with China, waiting for the fisherman's profit.
Despite being a small country, Brunei is not willing to be lonely and is trying to get a piece of the pie. However, Vietnam is also one of the countries that have attacked the South China Sea. Ignoring the commitment to establish diplomatic relations under the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence between China and Vietnam, they issued the "Vietnam's Peaceful Paracel and Truong Sa Islands" in 1979 in an attempt to include some islands in their territory.
We immediately expressed our opposition to this and reminded the Republic of Vietnam to cherish the friendly neighborly relations between the two countries. However, Li Duan** was stubborn, and soon after he set up "Changsha County" and included more than 31 small islands in it.
In 1987, China planned to establish a meteorological observatory in the Nansha Islands, in addition to scientific research considerations, more to strengthen the management of the South China Sea and clarify territorial sovereignty.
However, upon learning of the news, Vietnam immediately issued a warning to China, prohibiting China from setting up research sites on the Spratly islands. It's ridiculous, when did the Spratly Islands become Vietnamese?
China did not care about this and sent a fleet to the Spratly Islands to establish a station. The result was a scene where the navies of the two countries clashed at Huayang Reef.
Since the conflict at Huayang Reef, the Vietnamese Navy has become low-key, and our side does not dare to take it lightly, knowing that the other side may be preparing to make a big move. On March 13, 1988, Vietnam's armed transport vessels No. 505, No. 604 and No. 65 illegally entered the waters near China's Chigua Reef.
We immediately spotted the Vietnamese troops, and while asking them to evacuate immediately, we informed the soldiers to be ready for battle. Chen Weiwen, the head of the Nansha front, called the commander of the Navy *** and told him about the situation at Chigua Reef.
Commander Liu's secretary who received **, Commander Liu was in a meeting at the time, but he knew that the battle situation was changing rapidly, and he could not delay for a moment. He hurriedly ran into the conference room, reported the news to ***, and asked him to give instructions on the next step.
In the face of Vietnam's provocation again, ** was extremely angry in his heart, and he thought that Vietnam's behavior was too deceitful. However, this is also expected by him, because the conflict between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea has been going on for a long time.
Vietnam will not give up easily, and although China loves peace, if Vietnam hits its doorstep, China will resolutely fight back. If they don't hurt Vietnam, they may continue to cause trouble, and other countries with bad intentions may follow Vietnam's example, which will make the situation in the South China Sea more serious and more difficult to deal with.
Therefore, ** decisively ordered: "Must fight!" He and the Central Military Commission immediately began to discuss the content of the new meeting, that is, the military arrangements for the conflict in the South China Sea.
After discussion at the meeting, we formulated the following operational principles: first, we will not take the initiative to provoke disputes; Second, if the Vietnamese army forcibly lands on our island, we will immediately expel it, but we will not be the first to shoot and escalate the conflict; Finally, we will never show weakness in order to avoid fueling the arrogance of the enemy.
Thoughtful, the hardline attitude towards the Vietnamese army is not surprising. He always acted from a forward-looking perspective, so our army was prepared. This veteran revolutionary fought bravely in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, experienced many hardships and hardships, and was a hero of China's new regime.
However, in the process of participating in the construction of national defense, he found that the weakness of the navy was a major problem. Therefore, in July 1954, he decided to go to the Soviet Union to study naval professional theory and advanced command science, so as to comprehensively improve his professional skills and contribute his wisdom and strength to the development of China's naval forces.
When the conflict erupted six years ago, it was clear that conspirators in the South China Sea would one day resort militarily to their ambitions.
Soon after taking office, he frequently deployed personnel to conduct careful surveys of Nanhai Zhudao, to understand the topography of each island in detail, and to count specific information such as which places have reefs and which places are impassable.
In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the situation of the enemy forces and at the same time realize the shortcomings of our navy, he submitted an application to the ** Military Commission to send the navy to study abroad.
General Liu Qinghua has made far-reaching contributions to the development of the Chinese Navy. In 1985, the Navy Goodwill Visiting Formation led by him set off from the wharf of Wusong Military Port in Shanghai and began a two-month overseas visit.
This visit is the first time that China's navy has gone abroad, demonstrating to the world the strength of the Chinese navy and making those countries that want to get a piece of the South China Sea retreat. In order to enhance the strength of the Chinese Navy, General Liu Qinghua actively studied foreign naval training methods, strengthened the training intensity of the troops, and increased the frequency of officers and men going to sea for training.
At the same time, he also paid attention to the education of naval academies and did not allow students to relax after being admitted to university. He strictly implements the assessment system, eliminating students who perform poorly, leaving only the elite to avoid anyone eating white rice.
Under the leadership and efforts of General Liu Qinghua, the Chinese Navy has successfully enhanced its combat effectiveness and made significant contributions to the safeguarding of China's maritime rights and interests and the peaceful development of the country.
** Emphasizing the image unity and self-confidence of the naval team, creating a more positive training atmosphere and improving the training effect. In order to make the Chinese Navy more influential in the international arena, soldiers need to learn international naval knowledge and familiarize themselves with international signal rules in order to carry out effective signal exchanges such as distress and retreat without translation.
** The reform of others has greatly increased the strength of the Chinese navy, and we are fully prepared for this battle and will not be in a passive position.
The Vietnamese Navy may not have realized that the Chinese Navy has significantly improved its strength from the Battle of the Paracels 15 years ago. In the past, the combat ** had only a displacement of a few hundred tons, the number of soldiers was limited, and the ** equipment was relatively backward.
At present, six frigates with a displacement of more than 1,000 tons are stationed in the Nansha Islands, and three of them have directly dispatched troops to defend Chigua Jiao, namely the No. 502 "Nanchong" warship, the 531 Yingtan warship, and the 556 Xiangtan warship.
In particular, the Xiangtan is a new type of warship that has only been put into use in recent years, and it has strong combat capability.
There is a clear gap between Vietnam and China's military strength. Due to the long Vietnam War, the ** finances have long been stretched thin, and there is a lack of funds to buy new **.
In fact, they may not even be able to afford to repair their existing **. This time, the Vietnamese side sent only one Project 505 tank landing ship with a displacement of 4,000 tons and armed personnel carriers.
Although the landing ship was powerful in appearance, it was in fact long outdated. It was a U.S. military equipment during World War II and was later given to Vietnam after its defeat in the Vietnam War.
But Vietnam has not updated the equipment on the ship, so its combat capabilities can no longer be compared with modern **. However, in the face of the obvious disparity in strength between China and Vietnam, why does Vietnam still have the courage to provoke?
They mainly considered the following aspects: First, Vietnam is very close to the Spratly Islands, less than 600 kilometers, so it is more convenient to replenish. If the stalemate persists, China may abandon the reef and give it to Vietnam.
Second, China's relations with the Soviet Union were tense at this time, and the Soviet Union had troops stationed near Cam Ranh Bay near the South China Sea, which could potentially come to Vietnam's aid. Finally, small countries in Southeast Asia are also adding fuel to the fire, all waiting for news from Vietnam, and if China weakens, its neighbors will take advantage of it.
In the early morning of March 14, 1988, the sun rose from the sea as usual, but the calm of the South China Sea was shattered. The Vietnamese army sent troops to land on Chigua Reef and planted its own national flag, and the squadron was not to be outdone, sending people to plant the Chinese national flag, and the two sides formed a confrontation situation.
Following the instructions of the ** Military Commission, our side did not take the initiative to shoot, but confronted each other across the sea. "Chigua Reef is China's territory, and we ask you to immediately take away your national flag and leave China's waters. "
We persuaded people with reason and tried to get them to leave on their own in a reasonable way.
After hearing this, the Vietnamese army remained calm, and the distance between the two armies gradually narrowed, and the atmosphere became tense. Du Houxiang, a valiant soldier of our army, could not tolerate the Vietnamese flag planted on our territory, and he decisively rushed forward and pulled it out.
However, the Vietnamese side immediately shot and threatened Du Houxiang in an attempt to stop him. In the face of the enemy's attack, our side was not afraid and resolutely fought back, and war was about to break out.
The outbreak of fighting took the Vietnamese army by surprise, and the situation of the war quickly turned in our favor. In this battle, under the guidance of Chen Weiwen and other commanders, our soldiers successfully sank a Vietnamese ship in only 48 minutes.
In the end, at the cost of only one wounded, we managed to sink two enemy ships and at the same time ** 300 enemy troops. With this beautiful campaign, the Chinese Navy has successfully deterred the ambitions of other countries in Southeast Asia, and at the same time verified the effectiveness of naval training.
Despite the victory, the Chinese Navy remained humble and brave and moved on.
As a result of this battle, the rest of the world has gained a new understanding of the strength of the Chinese navy, and as a result, they have not dared to act rashly, and peace has been restored in the South China Sea in the short term.
However, from the Battle of the Spratlys, it was found that a major shortcoming of the Chinese Navy lies in the lack of air defense capabilities. During the battle, the Vietnamese army's Su-22 fighter-bombers were able to bomb the Chinese Navy from the air to provide support for naval operations on their own waters.
However, China has no corresponding countermeasures and can only passively withstand possible air attacks from Vietnam. In order to prevent this from happening, the Military Commission decided to let Chen Weiwen withdraw after recovering the six reef islands, and not to fall into a war, so as to prevent himself from falling into a passive situation.
After this battle, the leaders of the Military Commission deeply realized the urgency of building aircraft carriers. In order to completely cut off the covetousness of certain countries, aircraft carriers have become an indispensable strategy**.
Since then, he has begun to fully promote the development of China's aircraft carriers, and no matter when and where, the development of aircraft carriers has always tugged at his heartstrings. Today, we not only have independently developed aircraft carriers, but also have super-large ships with a displacement of 10,000 tons, safeguarding China's territorial sovereignty in an all-round way by land, sea and air.
However, the conspiracy of certain countries to stir up trouble in the South China Sea still exists, and we must not take it lightly, and we must persist in developing the country's military strength for a long time and always maintain a high degree of vigilance.