Nansha Islands, as the largest archipelago in the South China Sea, have many precious marine resources. Although there are 230 islands and reefs in the Spratlys, China controls only nine of them.
So, which countries occupy the other 221 islands and reefs? In the face of the current serious South China Sea issue, how should China actively respond to it and regain its sovereignty over the South China Sea?
1.The Spratly Islands have a long history, and it has been recorded during the Qin Dynasty that Vietnam was nothing more than a subordinate jurisdiction of the South Vietnamese State. In all dynasties, the Nansha Islands have been included in the Chinese territory and named "Wanli Stone Pond".
2.China was not only the first country to discover the Spratly Islands, but also the first to name them. Comply with the first and second elements of the territorial sea.
3.During the Southern Song Dynasty, the "Qiongguan Zhi" clearly recorded that the imperial court included Wanli Shitang in the jurisdiction of Qiongzhou on the West Road of Guangnan, and began effective management.
Since then, China has exercised effective jurisdiction over the Spratly Islands.
4.During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Zheng He's voyage to the West led fishermen from all over China to develop deep-sea fisheries, and also opened a great chapter in China's maritime history.
All these historical facts prove China's sovereignty over the Nansha Islands.
Under the development of the wisdom of the Chinese people, Wanli Stone Pond has changed from a deserted island on the sea to a lively and prosperous fishing treasure. According to the logbook of the British survey ship "Leverman", as early as the late Qing Dynasty, there were Chinese fishermen who lived in Wanli Shitang for a long time and carried out production and business activities here.
It can be seen from Chinese and foreign historical materials that China is the first country to develop and manage Wanli Stone Pond, which is in line with the third element of territorial waters. However, during the ** period, the country was suffering from internal and external troubles, and the people were living in difficulty.
Taking advantage of this opportunity and the danger of people, France forcibly occupied 9 islands in Nansha, including Thitu Island and Taiping Island, and carried out illegal exploration and mining activities. In this regard, **immediately dispatched** to the Spratly Islands to declare sovereignty and raise a serious ** to France.
In the aftermath of the incident, ** recognized the importance of safeguarding sovereignty in the South China Sea and began the compilation of the "Map of China's Islands in the South China Sea" to clarify China's actual control over the islands in the South China Sea.
Wanli Stone Pond was also officially named "Nansha Islands". This shows that China has continuous administrative jurisdiction over Nansha, which is in line with the fourth and last element of the internationally recognized territorial sea, and therefore, China is the only sovereign state of Nansha Islands.
However, at that time, the international situation was turbulent, Japan was eyeing China, and the fate of Nanhai Zhudao could not escape the fate of being invaded and occupied. In 1937, after the outbreak of Japan's full-scale war of aggression against China, Wanli Stone Pond was forcibly occupied by Japan, and a large number of fishery resources were stolen.
Fortunately, good and evil will be rewarded, and in 1945, Japan was defeated, and according to the provisions of the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, the Spratly Islands returned to the embrace of the motherland.
The return of the returned land to the motherland made *** very excited, and they immediately sent Nansha Commissioner Mai Yunyu to the Nansha Islands to establish a sovereignty monument.
In the same year, two ships named after the "Taiping" and "Zhongye" in the Nansha Islands landed on Taiping Island, and the staff of the ships set up a Nansha management office on Taiping Island, further emphasizing the sovereignty of the Nansha Islands.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Nansha Islands were taken over by China. Although China** has repeatedly reaffirmed the sovereignty issue of the Nansha Islands at international conferences, which has been recognized by the majority of countries, a survey report has changed this situation.
In 1968, the United Nations Commission for Exploration of Mineral Resources in the Sea released a report showing that the South China Sea has huge resource reserves, known as the industry's first oil reserves of more than one million tons, and natural gas reserves of trillions of cubic meters.
As exploration in the South China Sea continues, this number continues to be refreshed. The news caught the world's attention, and they all wanted a piece of the South China Sea.
The following year, the U.S. sent the USS Hunter to the South China Sea for exploration, which confirmed the abundance of oil and gas resources in the South China Sea. Even the United States, which is far away on the other side of the ocean, is eyeing the South China Sea, let alone the countries surrounding the South China Sea.
Among them, Vietnam, the Philippines and other countries adjacent to the Nansha Islands could not sit still and began to do everything possible to seize China's Nansha Islands. Actual control of 9 88The 60,000-square-kilometer Nansha Islands are located in the southern waters of the South China Sea and have 230 large and small islands and reefs, of which 178 are islands, reefs or reefs that do not have actual control capabilities.
Although China and its claimants in the South China Sea claim sovereignty over these islands and reefs, they do not have actual control over them because they cannot garrison troops. But for the other 52 islands and reefs, the South China Sea claimants have plundered them in every possible way, with the US-backed Philippines and South Vietnam being particularly arrogant.
From 1963 onwards, the Philippines began to secretly occupy Xiyue Island. After the United Nations investigation report came out in 1968, the Philippines publicly announced its occupation of the three islands of Mahuan Island, Nankey Island and Feixin Island.
In 1971, the Philippines took advantage of a super typhoon to hit the South China Sea and successfully occupied Thitu Island. After Taiwan discovered the enemy's situation, it could have regained the lost territory in a war, but ** had many concerns and finally gave up the operation.
The Philippines, having tasted the sweetness, sent troops again, and in the same year occupied Beizijiao, the fifth largest island in the Nansha Islands. At the same time, South Vietnam also began to plot a plan to seize the island. However, North Vietnam's support for our sovereignty over the Spratly Islands has hampered South Vietnam's actions.
In 1973, South Vietnam took advantage of China's domestic instability to occupy six more islands and reefs.
In 1975, North Vietnam won a victory on the battlefield in South Vietnam, but after the victory, it turned its back on China's support, directly occupied six islands and reefs, and renamed the Spratly Islands as the Changsha Islands, denying that they belonged to China.
As a result, Vietnam's demand for China has been greatly reduced, and Vietnam has begun to provoke and encroach on other islands and reefs in the South China Sea. The Spratly Islands are only 400 kilometers from Vietnam and 900 kilometers from China's Hainan Island, giving Vietnam the advantage of being close to the water.
At the same time, these territories were lost due to the fact that the strength of China was average at that time and it was not possible to carry out a large-scale naval attack on Vietnam. By the end of the 70s, the situation in the South China Sea deteriorated, and Vietnam, in alliance with the Soviet Union, even more brazenly violated the land and sea territory of our country.
In order to defend the country's territory, China's self-defense counterattack war against Vietnam broke out.
China and Vietnam are in turmoil, with the Philippines and Malaysia seizing a number of islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Vietnam, which had the support of the Soviet Union, had no scruples and continued to seize Nansha.
This situation was intolerable to our country, so we dispatched our navy and took targeted measures to expel other forces and take control of Huayang Jiao. At the same time, in response to the United Nations' joint testing plan, China decided to establish an oceanographic observatory on Fiery Cross Reef.
Fiery Cross Reef is the largest reef in the Nansha Islands and the choke point of shipping in the South China Sea, and its establishment is of great significance to China's ocean observation and navigation safety in the South China Sea.
Vietnam has expressed strong opposition to China's construction of an observatory on Fiery Cross Reef, and tensions between China and Vietnam have further escalated. Vietnam has shown great ambition by increasing its military strength in an attempt to seize the small islands near Fiery Cross Reef.
In response to a possible attack by Vietnam, six of our reef guards held out for 40 hours in bad weather. At the same time, our three reinforcements arrived in the waters of Fiery Cross Reef, forming a confrontational situation, the situation is very tense, and fighting may break out at any time.
Vietnam apparently intends to openly seize Fiery Cross Reef, and has also used a strategy of attacking Fiery Cross Reef on the surface, but in fact sending additional forces to other islands, such as Chikua Reef.
Our navy reacted quickly and intercepted the Vietnamese troops in two ways, successfully protecting the Chigua Reef and its surrounding islands. However, Vietnam was cunning and changeable, taking advantage of its geographical advantages, and sent a large number of additional troops to other islands such as West Reef, and finally succeeded in occupying five islands, bringing the number of islands and reefs in Nansha to 20.
In the South China Sea dispute, our side has always taken a proactive attitude, concentrating most of its forces on Fiery Cross Reef, and although it missed five islands, both China and Vietnam have exercised restraint in the back-and-forth conflict.
However, in March 1988, the Vietnamese army launched a surprise attack and wounded our soldier Yang Zhiliang, leading to the outbreak of the Sino-Vietnamese naval battle. The Vietnamese army took the lead, and our country immediately counterattacked with all its might, and Fiery Cross Reef and Chigua Reef suddenly fell into fierce battles.
Although our army suffered heavy losses in the battle, it successfully recovered 6 islands, sent troops to garrison them, grasped the actual control, and finally won a complete victory. The six islands are Subi Reef, Gaven Reef, Huayang Reef, Dongmen Reef, Fiery Cross Reef and Chigua Reef, while Taiping Island and Zhongzhou Island are controlled by Taiwan.
In 1994, we began to build shelter facilities for fishing boats on Mischief Reef, which was previously uncontrolled by our country.
Changes in the number of islands and reefs in China's Nansha Islands: 1In the Spratly Islands, China currently controls nine islands and reefs, including Taiping Island and Zhongzhou Island.
This figure has remained unchanged since 1999. 2.In 1999, the U.S. bombed China's southern embassy while China was dealing with the incident, and Malaysia took control of the reef.
As a result, the number of islands and reefs under Malaysia's de facto control in the Spratly Islands has increased to six. 3.During this period, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Vietnam took the opportunity of inspecting the Spratly Islands to gradually acquire Wan'an Beach, Xiwei Beach and Li Zhun Beach.
Vietnam's number of islands and reefs in the Spratly Islands has also increased to 4 islands, 10 shallow reefs, 7 sandbanks and 8 underwater reefs, bringing the total to 29. 4.In the past few years, the Philippines has occupied the largest number of islands and reefs in the Spratly Islands, with a total of eight.
Brunei also received the Nantong Reef transferred by Malaysia, with 1 island and reef. Therefore, the distribution of 52 islands and reefs in the South China Sea is: 9 in China, 5 in Malaysia, 29 in Vietnam, 8 in the Philippines and 1 in Brunei.
In China's Spratly waters, every inch of land is precious, but the number of islands and reefs occupied by China is worrying. Therefore, China has decided to adopt the strategy of winning by quality and enhancing its military strength in the South China Sea by building artificial islands.
First, we need to have enough space to strengthen the military system. For this reason, China has decided to fill artificial islands in the Nansha waters and turn small reefs into large islands, so as to give full play to its geographical advantages.
In 2013, the seven Nansha islands controlled by Chinese mainland began reclamation. The strength of China's infrastructure madness can be seen, and it only took one and a half years to complete the filling of all artificial islands.
Among the seven islands in Nansha, Mischief Island, Subi Island, and Fiery Cross Island, which are the top three in terms of area, have been built into the three major bases in Nansha, with airports inside that can take off and land large military aircraft.
This will greatly enhance China's military strength in the South China Sea. In general, by building artificial islands, our country can not only increase its military strength, but also give full play to its geographical advantages, thereby better protecting our sovereignty and territorial integrity.
1. Three bases to build an iron triangle Mischief Island is a natural haven, and Fiery Cross Island is the material distribution center and transportation hub of Nansha. With three bases, China can catch up with its competitors without having a dominant number of islands and reefs.
2. Strengthen the control of the South China Sea **The establishment of Sansha City has strengthened the control of the major islands, including the Nansha Islands, and made the South China Sea, which was originally not cohesive, have a center.
3. Perfect infrastructure Yongxing Island, the administrative center of Sansha City, has an airport and a large port to meet the take-off and landing needs of various military aircraft, and can also berth ships of 5,000 tons.
Sansha City has jurisdiction over the three major islands of Zhongsha, Xisha and Nansha, which are 800 kilometers away from Nansha Islands in a straight line, which has greatly narrowed the connection between Nansha and other islands, and the integration of the South China Sea has begun to take shape.
The geographical advantages of Sansha City cannot be ignored. The three regions of Zhongsha, Xisha and Nansha are like a solid triangle, complementing and protecting each other, especially in the South China Sea**, where the three islands of Subi, Yongxing and Fiery Cross constitute an unshakable island"Aircraft carriers", which can be called an unsinkable line of defense.
The South China Sea is equally militarily powerful. At present, Sansha City has four grassroots people's armed forces, as well as military forces such as the Sansha Garrison District, the Xisha Water Police District, the Nansha Patrol District, and the active armed police force.
Hainan is from Sansha City"Support base"with"Command center"。As a docking place for aircraft carriers and a number of frigates, the Sanya Military Port can provide strong support to the South China Sea in a short period of time.
At the same time, the South China Sea Fleet, which is one of China's three major naval fleets, in addition to having a world-class Shandong aircraft carrier and seven 10,000-ton destroyers, also has dozens of destroyers, and its strength is only below that of the United States.
Although China does not have the largest number of islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands, judging from the overall situation in the South China Sea, China has successfully reversed the tide and firmly grasped the initiative and control, so that Vietnam and other countries can only look at the ocean and sigh, and dare not act rashly.
Conclusion: The history of Nansha proves that the saying that if you are backward, you will be beaten, is true, and we should learn a lesson from it.
We have reason to believe that one day, China will be able to easily recover all the occupied islands and reefs one by one, and the South China Sea belongs to us.