Sunday, May 6, 2018

20180506 Bạch Thư Hoàng Sa Và Trường Sa.

20180506 Bạch Thư Hoàng Sa Và Trường Sa.
Có thể lấy tài liệu xuống từ đường kết nối dưới đây.
PARACEL ISLANDS, QUẦN ĐẢO HOÀNG SA VIỆT-NAM (XISHA ISLANDS)
The 21st century white paper on Paracels (aka Hoàng Sa; Xisha), Spratly (aka Trường Sa; Sansha) islands of the Republic of Vietnam
To: The world leader – The world of Ocean Protection - world map Organizations - International and Vietnamese media - The Vietnamese people. 
Please find enclosed these documents ''for your information". We sincerely appreciate your help for the Environmental Right, the Human Rights, the Peaceful to the Southeast Asia Sea and the Vietnam sea: Freedom, Democracy and Sovereignty of Vietnam. Respectfully yours with sincere gratitude. 
Wir erlauben uns, Ihnen für alle Fälle dieses Dokument zu übermitteln. Ihre Hilfe ist ausserordentlich schätzenswert, die anstrebt das Umweltrecht, die Menschenrechte, Freiheit, Demokratie und Souveränität in Vietnam zu erreichen. Mit bestem Dank und vorzüglicher Hochachtung. 
Nous nous permettons de VOUS transmettre ces documents ''à toutes fins utiles''. Nous apprécions infiniment votre aide visant à obtenir le droit de l'environnement, des droits de l'homme, la Liberté, la Démocratie et la Souveraineté du VietNam. Avec nos sentiments respectueux et dévoués. 

January 19, 2018, 44 th Anniversary battle of the Paracels islands (Jan 19, 1974 – Jan 19, 2018); 50th Anniversary of the Hue Massacre (January 29, 1968 – January 29, 2018); 43th Commemorated black april (30-04-1975_30-04-2018); and Anniversary 1070th years of the Bach Dang river battle/victory (December, 938 – December, 2018)















Paracels, Spratlys islands is part of the Vietnam Sea and the Vietnam Sea obviously isn't the South China Sea. 
The Paracel islands, Spratly islands belong to the Vietnamese people; not Chinese this decade. 
No South China Sea on the Vietnam Sea map; Our Vietnam Sea is part of the Southeast Asian Sea and not part of the South China Sea.
Preface: 
The Vietnamese archipelagoes of Hoang Sa (aka Paracels; Xisha) and Truong Sa (aka Spratlys; Sansha, Nansha) are both situated in the Southeast Asian Sea off the Republic of Vietnam's shore; 
China is a big threat for the peace and stabilization in Southeast Asia region and the whole world as well; 
No militarization processes allowed on our Paracels, Spratly islands and vicinities; 
China must retreat immediately from ours Paracels, Spratly islands, and our Vietnam East Sea;
Beijing China must accept Hague ruling on Vietnam sea (Southeast Asia Sea) case;
No Human rights, no Environmental Rights, no Freedom, no Democracy, no trade with China. 
No Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic.
Co-edited: SOS Vietnam (Dang Phuong Nghi_http://sosvietnam.net); The Vietnamese American Science & Technology Society – VAST and the Vietnamese Environmental Protection Society – VEPS (https://maithanhtruyet.blogspot1.comhttps://www.facebook.com/envirovn); The Government de Jure of the Republic of Vietnam in North America, Europe and Australia (http://vietnamconghoaphapdinh.com/); The ‘Committee to prosecute all Vietnamese communist criminals of war (http://uybantruyto.com); Paracels forum-The discussions procedd for peace (Vu Huu San - http://paracels.freetzi.com/); Vu Huu San water world (http://vanminhnuoc.freetzi.com/); Diep My Linh (http://diepmylinh.com); Viet Ecology foundation (http://vietecology.org); The maritime historical library (http://xishananshaislands.org); The Vietnam sovereignty forum (http://vietnamparacels.org); The Vietnamsea social networking (http://vietnamsea.org); http://vnafmamn.com website; The Vietnamese Historical Association
***
Contents: 
English:

- Preface
2
- Contents
3 - 4
- Timeline of Ancient VietNam - By Vu Huu
5 - 6
- Vietnam Water Culture - By Vu Huu San
7 - 10
- Questions about History ?
11 - 12
- Vietnamese Culture v/s Chinese Culture – By Vu Huu San
13 - 14
- Paracels - Legends of the Vietnamese Watery Realm - By Vu Huu San
15 - 16
- Vietnam Sovereignty - By Vu Huu San
17 - 23
- Chinese-Perfect Strangers of the Eastern Sea - By Vu Huu San
24 - 34
- The Paracels and Spratly islands history - By Dong tinh hoai Ngo; English version by V.G.Tran
35 - 36
- The President Ngo Dinh Diem to maintain sovereignty over the “East” Sea especially the Paracel and Spratly Islands - By Dong tinh hoai Ngo; En version by V.G.Tran
37 - 38
Hoang Sa 1974 Naval Battle – By Do Kiem's Views
39 - 44
- Battle for the Paracel islands 1974 – By vnafmamn.com
45 - 57
- A tribute to the navy of the Republic of Vietnam – By vnafmamn.com    
58 - 65
- Republic of Vietnam's White Paper on Paracel and Spratlys islands (1974-1975)
66 - 100
- Proclamation by the Government of the Republic of Vietnam (1974)
101
- China Propaganda - By Luu Van Loi
102 - 113
- Bauxite Central Highlands is the real Chinese Domination – By Mai Thanh Truyet
114 - 120
- Communist China’s Roads Towards The South – By Mai Thanh Truyet
121 - 125
- Call to all lovers of justice and freedom, nature and Democracy  - By Dang Phuong Nghi
126 - 142
- S.O.S. VIETNAM En danger de génocide et d’annexion par la Chine - par Dang Phuong Nghi
143 - 153
- Upheaval in East Asia Sea: Progress of the stranglehold of China on the Paracel and Spratly at the expense of Vietnam - By Dang Phuong Nghi
154 - 161
- La mer méridionale de l’Asie de l’Est en ébullition: Progression de la mainmise de la Chine sur les Paracels et les Spratlys aux dépens du Vietnam par Dang Phuong Nghi
162 - 170
- Open letter to the President Donald Trump by The Government de Jure of the Republic of Vietnam in North America, Europe and Australia
171 - 174
- Lettre ouvert au President Donald Trump par Le Gouvernement De Jure de la République du Vietnam
175 - 178
- Qing dynasty map dated 1904 does not included Vietnam Paracels Spratlys Islands - Mai Hồng – Autor; English version by V.G. Tran; Dai Viet Tran–Updated
179 - 181
- Indisputable Historical Facts: French has proved that Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands are Vietnam’s sovereignty - English version by V.G. Tran; Source: NGUYEN VAN MUI’s blog    
182 - 185
- The European Union: Stop the one belt one road initiative and TGV Pekin-Geneva in 10 days from China. Re-edited by vietnamparacels.org open forum; En version V.G.Tran
186 - 188
- PEOPLE REPUBLIC OF CHINA WRECKING THE ECO-SYSTEM SCOURING THE OCEAN FLOORS by Ngo The Vinh MD -
189 - 198
- Chinese Communists destroy ecological environment by dredging the Ocean by V.G.Tran
199 - 207
- Open letter to Sundar Pichai CEO of Google Inc., Jen Fitzpatrick Vice President of Maps and Local of Google Inc., Eric E. Schmidt Executive Chairman of Google Inc.: no south China sea on Vietnam sea map, May 21, 2017
208 - 213
- Cam Ranh fishermen’s Urgent Request Submittal (4th trial) - English version by Van Giang Tran
214 - 218
- No South China Sea on the Vietnam Sea: Letter to Donald Trump and Chinese communist Xi Jinping at US-Sino Summit April 6-7, 2017
219 - 224
- No China globalization, Zürich, Bern, Graubunden (Davos) Switzerland January 15-20, 2017
225 - 227
- Peaceful Declaration for the World’s Contested Sea in 2016 - China Must Go
228 - 230
- Campaign to Rename the ‘South China Sea’ into ‘Vietnam Sea.'
231 - 234
- It is time to rename the South China Sea
235 - 236
- The Vietnamese historical association denounces the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping for its crime against human beings, of aggression and of genocide toward the Vietnamese ethnic, the Tibetans, Falun Gong and Philippines
237 - 250
- Protest against installing the statue of Ho Chi Minh at Mimasaka, Japan (English, Vietnamese, Japanese, French, Deutsch, Norwegian)
      
251 - 257
- Hue Massacre, Tet 1968 - By  http://ngothelinh.tripod.com/Hue.html  
258 - 267
- In memory of Hue, Tet 1968 by Vietnam bulletin (1970)
268 - 272
- Hue massacre 1968 Reposted from VietQuoc Homepage andCompiled by Pueng Vongs CaliToday News Report November 4, 2003
273 - 276
                                                              ***

The 21st century white paper on Paracels (aka Hoàng Sa; Xisha), Spratly (aka Trường Sa; Sansha; Nansha) islands of the Republic of Vietnam. http://www.xishananshaislands.org/paracel-spratly-islands-virtual-library/the21st-century-white-paper-on-paracels-spratly-islands-of-the-republic-ofvietnam.html  @@@ To: The world leader – The world of Ocean Protection - world map Organizations - International and Vietnamese media - The Vietnamese people  Please find enclosed these documents ''for your information". We sincerely appreciate your help for the Environmental Right, the Human Rights, the Peaceful to the Southeast Asia Sea and the Vietnam sea: Freedom, Democracy and Sovereignty of Vietnam. Respectfully yours and with sincere gratitude. Wir erlauben uns, Ihnen für alle Fälle dieses Dokument zu übermitteln. Ihre Hilfe ist ausserordentlich schätzenswert, die anstrebt das Umweltrecht, die Menschenrechte, Freiheit, Demokratie und Souveränität in Vietnam zu erreichen. Mit bestem Dank und vorzüglicher Hochachtung. Nous nous permettons de VOUS transmettre ces documents ''à toutes fins utiles''. Nous apprécions infiniment votre aide visant à obtenir le droit de l'environnement, des droits de l'homme, la Liberté, la Démocratie et la Souveraineté du VietNam. Avec nos sentiments respectueux et dévoués. January 19, 2018, 44 th Anniversary battle of the Paracels islands (Jan 19, 1974 – Jan 19, 2018); 50th Anniversary of the Hue Massacre (January 29, 1968 – January 29, 2018); 43th Commemorated black april (30-04-1975_30-04-2018); and Anniversary 1070th years of the Bach Dang river battle/victory (December, 938 – December, 2018) Co-edited: SOS Vietnam (Dang Phuong Nghi_ http://sosvietnam.net); The Vietnamese American Science & Technology Society – VAST and the Vietnamese Environmental Protection Society – VEPS (https://maithanhtruyet.blogspot1.com; https://www.facebook.com/envirovn); The Government de Jure of the Republic of Vietnam in North America, Europe and Australia (http://vietnamconghoaphapdinh.com/); The ‘Committee to prosecute all Vietnamese communist criminals of war (http://uybantruyto.com); Paracels forum-The discussions procedd for peace (Vu Huu San - http://paracels.freetzi.com/); Vu Huu San water world (http://vanminhnuoc.freetzi.com/); Diep My Linh (http://diepmylinh.com); Viet Ecology foundation (http://vietecology.org); The maritime historical library (http://xishananshaislands.org);
The Vietnam sovereignty forum (http://vietnamparacels.org); The Vietnamsea social networking (http://vietnamsea.org); http://vnafmamn.com website; The Vietnamese Historical Association.
Paracels, Spratlys islands is part of the Vietnam Sea and the Vietnam Sea obviously isn't the South China Sea. The Paracel islands, Spratly islands belong to the Vietnamese people; not Chinese this decade. No South China Sea on the Vietnam Sea map; Our Vietnam Sea is part of the Southeast Asian Sea and not part of the South China Sea. Preface: The Vietnamese archipelagoes of Hoang Sa (aka Paracels; Xisha) and Truong Sa (aka Spratlys; Sansha, Nansha) are both situated in the Southeast Asian Sea off the Republic of Vietnam's shore; China is a big threat for the peace and stabilization in Southeast Asia region and the whole world as well; No militarization processes allowed on our Paracels, Spratly islands and vicinities; China must retreat immediately from ours Paracels, Spratly islands, and our Vietnam East Sea; Beijing China must accept Hague ruling on Vietnam sea (Southeast Asia Sea) case; No Human rights, no Environmental Rights, no Freedom, no Democracy, no trade with China;
No Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic
Contents: 
English: 
-Preface 2 
- Contents 3 - 4 
- Timeline of Ancient VietNam 
- By Vu Huu 5 - 6 
- Vietnam Water Culture - By Vu Huu San 7 - 10 
- Questions about History? 11 - 12 
- Vietnamese Culture v/s Chinese Culture – By Vu Huu San 13 - 14 
- Paracels - Legends of the Vietnamese Watery Realm - By Vu Huu San 15 - 16 
- Vietnam Sovereignty - By Vu Huu San 17 - 23 
- Chinese-Perfect Strangers of the Eastern Sea - By Vu Huu San 24 - 34 
- The Paracels and Spratly islands history - By Dong tinh hoai Ngo; English version by V.G.Tran 35 - 36 
- The President Ngo Dinh Diem to maintain sovereignty over the “East” Sea especially the Paracel and Spratly Islands 
- By Dong tinh hoai Ngo; En version by V.G.Tran 37 - 38 
- Hoang Sa 1974 Naval Battle – By Do Kiem's Views 39 - 44 
- Battle for the Paracel islands 1974 – By vnafmamn.com 45 - 57 
- A tribute to the navy of the Republic of Vietnam – By vnafmamn.com 58 - 65 
- Republic of Vietnam's White Paper on Paracel and Spratlys islands (1974-1975) 66 - 100 
- Proclamation by the Government of the Republic of Vietnam (1974) 101 
- China Propaganda - By Luu Van Loi 102 - 113 
- Bauxite Central Highlands is the real Chinese Domination – By Mai Thanh Truyet 114 - 120 
- Communist China’s Roads Towards The South – By Mai Thanh Truyet 121 - 125 
- Call to all lovers of justice and freedom, nature and Democracy  - By Dang Phuong Nghi 126 - 142 
- S.O.S. VIETNAM En danger de génocide et d’annexion par la Chine - par Dang Phuong Nghi 143 - 153 
- Upheaval in East Asia Sea: Progress of the stranglehold of China on the Paracel and 154 - 161
Spratly at the expense of Vietnam - By Dang Phuong Nghi 
- La mer méridionale de l’Asie de l’Est en ébullition: Progression de la mainmise de la Chine sur les Paracels et les Spratlys aux dépens du Vietnam par Dang Phuong Nghi 162 - 170 
- Open letter to the President Donald Trump by The Government de Jure of the Republic of Vietnam in North America, Europe and Australia 171 - 174 
- Lettre ouvert au President Donald Trump par Le Gouvernement De Jure de la République du Vietnam 175 - 178 
- Qing dynasty map dated 1904 does not include Vietnam Paracels Spratlys Islands - Mai Hồng – Autor; English version by V.G. Tran; Dai Viet Tran–Updated 179 - 181 
- Indisputable Historical Facts: French has proved that Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands are Vietnam’s sovereignty - English version by V.G. Tran; Source: NGUYEN VAN MUI’s blog 182 - 185 
- The European Union: Stop the one belt one road initiative and TGV Pekin-Geneva in 10 days from China. Re-edited by vietnamparacels.org open forum; En version V.G.Tran 186 - 188 
- PEOPLE REPUBLIC OF CHINA WRECKING THE ECO-SYSTEM SCOURING THE OCEAN FLOORS by Ngo The Vinh MD - 189 - 198 
- Chinese Communists destroy ecological environment by dredging the Ocean by V.G.Tran 199 - 207 
- Open letter to Sundar Pichai CEO of Google Inc., Jen Fitzpatrick Vice President of Maps and Local of Google Inc., Eric E. Schmidt Executive Chairman of Google Inc.: no south China sea on Vietnam sea map, May 21, 2017 208 - 213 
- Cam Ranh fishermen’s Urgent Request Submittal (4th trial) - English version by Van Giang Tran 214 - 218 
- No South China Sea on the Vietnam Sea: Letter to Donald Trump and Chinese communist Xi Jinping at US-Sino Summit April 6-7, 2017 219 - 224 
- No China globalization, Zürich, Bern, Graubunden (Davos) Switzerland January 15- 20, 2017 225 - 227 
- Peaceful Declaration for the World’s Contested Sea in 2016 - China Must Go 228 - 230 
- Campaign to Rename the ‘South China Sea’ into ‘Vietnam Sea.' 231 - 234 
- It is time to rename the South China Sea 235 - 236 
- The Vietnamese historical association denounces the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping for its crime against human beings, of aggression and of genocide toward the Vietnamese ethnic, the Tibetans, Falun Gong and Philippines 237 - 250 
- Protest against installing the statue of Ho Chi Minh at Mimasaka, Japan (English, Vietnamese, Japanese, French, Deutsch, Norwegian) 251 - 257.
- Hue Massacre, Tet 1968 by http://ngothelinh.tripod.com/Hue.html 258 - 267 
- In memory of Hue, Tet 1968 by Vietnam bulletin (1970) 268 - 272 - Hue massacre 1968 Reposted from Viet Quoc Homepage and Compiled by Pueng VongsCaliToday News Report November 4, 2003, 273 - 276.

Timeline of Ancient Vietnam.
A Proposal by Vu Huu San.
Around 70,000 B.P. First known evidence of Southeast Asian Crossing the Sea by Bamboo Raft to Australia
> 20,000 B.P. Proposed date for the beginning of the Hoabinhian Culture in the North VietNam (by Solheim)
> 20,000 B.P. Partially Polished Stone Tools of Hoabinhian Culture presented in Northern Australia.
Around 15,000 B.P. Sea levels began to rise. From BienDong (Eastern Sea) plains, Viet (Yủeh) people moved upward, along the Yangtze, West, Red and Ma Rivers, settled in the half-submerge coastal areas, or to the higher-level grounds inside. 15,000 B.C. First domestication of plants in the world was done by people of the Hoabinhian Culture.
10,500 B.C. Cord-marked pottery invented.
8,000 B.C. Use of wild rice (Southeast Asia, Southern China, Northern India) 7,000-3,000 B.C. Bac Son Culture.
5,000 B.C. Wet rice farming in the Bach Viet Areas (present-day South China) 3,500 B.C. Socketed bronze Ax (Thailand).
2,897-258 B.C. Kingdom of Van Lang (Hung Kings), Lac Viet Navy Ships were heavily equipped with " Fleche Magique" (No Than), some of them made by bronze.
2,500-1,500 B.C. Phung Nguyen Culture.
Around 2,000 B.C. Bach-Viet Boat People landed in America Continent, soon after the beginning of the Chinese expansion to the South.
800 B.C.-200 A.D. Dong Son Culture.
258-207 B.C. Kingdom of Au Lac.
207 B.C. Foundation of Kingdom of Nam Viet by Trieu Da.
111 B.C. Conquest of Nam Viet by Han Dynasty in China.
39 A.D. Revolt of Trung Sisters against Chinese rule.
43 Suppression of Trung Sisters Revolt by Ma Yuan.
192 Foundation of Kingdom of Lam Ap, predecessor of the state of Champa, in Central Vietnam.
248 Revolt by followers of Lady Trieu (Ba Trieu).
542-545 Ly Bi Rebellion against Chinese rule.
722 Mai Thuc Loan Rebellion.
939 Restoration of Vietnamese Independence by Ngo Quyen after first battle of Bach Dang.
939 Foundation of Ngo Dynasty ( 939-965).
965-968 Period of the Twelve Warlords.
968 Foundation of the Dinh Dynasty (968-980).
Vu Huu San.
Vietnam Water Culture.
Vietnam and the Origins of the Water Civilization. 
The Indigenous of the Eastern Sea. 
Living by the Eastern Sea, Vietnamese are all-around naturally seamen. In the contrary with the Chinese nature, Vietnamese have always been considered as the experts in the arts of naval warfare and maritime transportation since the very ancient time. The Han Chinese wrote of southerners Viet people as follows "The Yủeh people by nature a indolent and undisciplined. They travel to remote places by water and use boats as we use carts and oars as we use horses. When they come (north - to attack) they float along and when they leave (withdraw) they are hard to follow. They enjoy fighting and are not afraid to die." (See "Eighth Voyage of the Dragon", Bruce Swanson, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1982, page 11-12). The vessels of the Yủeh in the Warring States period, however, were not all naval, and we can be sure that there were trading expeditions at least along the coasts of Siberia, Korea and Indochina. There were also some explorations of the Pacific itself. And of course, as ever, inland water transport. (See Needham, Joseph, Wang Ling and Lu Gwei-Djen, "Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 4: Physics and Physical Technology, part III: Civil Engineering and Nautics" Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1971, Page 441) The off-shore ships of the Tonking (North Vietnam) Area were surprisingly big and so technically advanced for the Chinese observations. A 3rd-century text of capital importance does so, however. It occurs in the Nan Chou I Wu Chih (Strange Things of the South), written by Wan Chen, and run as follows: The people of foreign parts (wai yu jen) call chhuan (ships) po. The large ones are more than 20 chang in length (up to 150 ft.) and stand out of the water 2 or 3 chang (about 15 to 23 ft.). At a distance they look like 'flying galleries' (ko tao) and they can carry from 600 to 700 persons, with 10,000 bushels (hu) of cargo. The people beyond the barriers (wai chiao jen), according to the sizes of their ships, sometimes rig (as many as) four sails, which they carry in a row from bow to stern. From the leaves of the lu-thou tree, which have the shape of 'yung', and are more 1 chang (about 7.5 ft.) long, they weave the sails. The four sails do not face directly forwards. but are set obliquely, and so arranged that they can all be fixed in the same direction, to receive the wind and to spill it (Chhi ssu fan pu cheng chhien hsiang, chieh shih hsieh i hsiang chu, i chhufeng chhui feng ). Those (sails which are) behind (the most windward one) (receiving the) pressure (of the wind), throw it from one to the other, so that they all profit from its force (Hou che chi erh hsiang she, i ping te feng li). If it is violent, they (the sailors) diminish or augment (the sails) to receive from one another the breath of the wind, obviates the anxiety attendant upon having high masts. Thus (these ships) sail without avoiding strong winds and dashing waves, by the aid of which they can make great speed." This indeed a striking passage. It establishes without any doubt that in the +3rd century southerners whether Cantonese or Annamese, were using four-masted ships with matting sails in a fore-and-aft rig of some kind. The Indonesian canted square-sail is not absolutely excluded, but it would be unwieldy on a vessel with several masts, and some kind of tall balanced lug-sail seem much more probable. (See Needham, Joseph, Wang Ling and Lu Gwei-Djen, "Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 4: Physics and Physical Technology, part III: Civil Engineering and Nautics" Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1971, Page 600-601.) Viet Nam is a maritime country. None of the plains on which the great bulk of the population is concentrated lies very far from the coast. "The sea therefore is constantly present in Vietnamese life. Its products, salt and fish, play a vital role in the diet. The legendary emperors who founded the Vietnamese monarchy are said to have had their thighs tattooed with sea monsters in order to ensure a victorious return from their fishing expeditions. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries English agents sent to Viet Nam by the East India Company acknowledged that the Vietnamese were the best sailors in the Far East. Even more than the often narrow coastal corridor of Central Viet Nam, the sea represents the main line of communication between north and south- it is therefore an essential element of Vietnamese National unity in the economic sphere." (Jean Chesneaux "The Vietnamese Nation - Contribution To A History, Translated by Malcolm Salmon, Current Book Distributors Pty. Ltd. Sydney, 1966) Western merchants also testified to the hospitality of the Vietnamese. By the old tradition of the sailors, they have especially expressed the genuine kindness towards other mariners, as described in a memo on trade with this region written probably between 1690 and 1700: When a vessel is shipwrecked, it get a better welcome (in Cochinchina) than anywhere else.. Ships come out from shore to salvage the equipment; nets are used to recover merchandise which has fallen overboard. In fact, no effort is spared to put the ship back into good condition. (See Taboulet, "La geste franẫaise en Indochine." Paris, 1955, Vol. 1, p. 87.) Like his fellow Jesuits Ricci and de Nobili in China and India, de Rhodes never looked on the oriental Vietnamese as "underdeveloped" or even as just plain hungry, benightedly awaiting the benefits of Western technocracy and superior social structures. (See Rhodes Of Vietnam, The Travels and Missions of Father Alexander de Rhodes in China and Other Kingdoms of the Orient, Translated by Solange Hertz, The Newman Press - Westminster, Maryland, 1966.) Two years before the "Mayflower" put ashore at Massachusetts, a Portuguese Jesuit priest, Cristoforo Borri (the same Father Borri, have mentioned above), landed with brother missionaries in Faifo, a Vietnamese port located near the present city of Danang in Central Vietnam. (The Portuguese called all of Vietnam below the 18th parallel Cochinchina; they called the people Cochinchinese, to distinguish them from the Chinese of China proper.) Father Borri came as a friend and was so received by Vietnamese. This delightful mathematician expressed great enthusiasm for the local inhabitants, even commenting on the women’s feminine charms! Extolling their attire, he wrote that "though decent, it is so becoming that one believes one is witnessing a gracious flowering springtime." (See Georges Taboulet, "La geste Franẫaise en Indochine," Paris, 1955, p. 59.) The record he left compares the people with those of China, where his journeys for the faith had also taken him. To his evident delight, he found the Cochinchinese truly hospitable and "superior to the Chinese in their wit and courage" (See Helen B. Lamb, "Vietnam’s Will to Live - Resistance to Foreign Aggression from Early Times Through the Nineteenth Century", Monthly Review Press, New York and London, 1972.)
Viet or Yueh -The undauntable seafaring people "A seafaring people," C. P. Fitzgerald had written in The Southern Expansion of the Chinese People, "the Yủeh fought against the incorporation in new empires." To this day, "in Kwangtung, the homeland of the 'Cantonese' retains their distinctive character and restless attitude toward northern rule," he wrote; for "the main constituent of the population of Kwangtung and also in Fukien is a stock originally-non-Chinese and largely Yủeh." Who were these people? "The Yủeh people, from whom the old kingdom had taken its name, were in ancient times wide-spread along the coast of eastern Asia.... Vietnam is the modern center of the Yủeh, and the word Viet is simply the local pronunciation of the Chinese form Yủeh," Fitzgerald said. "The more northerly Yủeh were annexed by the Han empire and lost their national identity, although it is probable that a very large proportion of the present inhabitants of Fukien and Kwangtung are descendants of this people. These seafaring people were among the masters of the seas. From the beginning of known history, the "coastal people turned to the sea, as long tradition suggested," wrote Fitzgerald. "They had, probably before the Christian age, moved south across the sea." And " the pattern of Chinese emigration therefore settled, at a time which has not been fully recorded, into a shape which it has retained until modern times." It may have been these traditions that made them so self-reliant and independent. They fought foreign invasions with the same resilience with which they fought the storms at sea. (Fusang, The Chinese Who Built America, Stan Steiner, New York, 1979, p.70-71.) Cochinchinese- The boldest Seamen Under the observation of George Windsor Earl, of England,  the South Vietnamese or so-called Cochinese Mariners were the boldest Seamen of the world. He wrote in his diary: The weather continued very indifferent during the remainder of the passage. On the 27th, when near the entrance of Singapore Straits, we fell in with six Cochin Chinese prahus, similar to that which we had seen at Tringanu. Although exposed to a severe squall, these brave fellows were carrying all sail on their little vessels, and seemed determined to start nothing. Our Chinese jerratulis watched them for some time in silent admiration, and at last he cried out- "Ah ! dia brani berlayer itu orang Cochin China "-"they are bold seamen those Cochin Chinese ;" and indeed they may be so pronounced when compared with the Chinese themselves. I do not know how the Cochin Chinese would behave on board square-rigged ships, but they work their little vessels in a manner that would not disgrace the best European seamen. These prahus, none of which exceeded fifty tons burden, had beat down the China sea against the monsoon. a feat which a Company's ship would scarcely have attempted twenty years ago. The Cochin-Chinese are deservedly great favourites with those who are well acquainted with them, and from their liveliness and vivacity, they have often been compared with the French. In their commercial intercourse with Singapore, they have to struggle against many disadvantages. In the first place the selfish government of their country not permitting a foreign trade, they are consequently, when engaged in this forbidden pursuit, obliged to steal away and risk all their little property, and probably their lives also and being unable to procure arms, become the favourite prey of the cowardly Malay pirates, many of them, perhaps to the annual amount of one hundred and fifty, being killed or taken., within a day's sail of our settlement at Singapore... (See: The Eastern Seas On Voyages and Advantures in the Indian Archipelago, in 1832-33-34, George Windsor Earl, London 1837, - Reprint: The Eastern Seas, Oxford U. Press, 1971.)
(to be continued)
Questions about History ?
Here are several comments on the issue of South China Sea.
(1) By the law of sea, merely discovery of an island does not guarantee a sovereignty.
(2) The first time China sent its stationed troop to Nansha Islands (Taiping) is 1910 by the navy minister Li Zhun. Due to the Xin Hai Revolution of 1911, they starved there soon.
(3) The sovereignty over one island does not guarantee the sovereignty over uninhabited surrounding islands unless the military takes regular patrol around them.
(4) The sovereignty over one island grants China the territory claim 12 nautical miles around it, not the entire sea.
(5) Zeng Mu An Sha is 20 meters below sea-level. It can not be a basis for a territory claim. Its original name is James, after its discoverer. Zeng Mu was made up arbitarily by the ROC government.
(6) The PRC declared in 50's (signed by Zhou En Lai), that Yellow Sea and Bo Hai are China's inner seas, East Sea (including the Taiwan Strait) and South Sea are open waters.
(7) China has been asked by foreign countries the historical or legal background for Chinese maps about the South Sea. The PRC foreign ministry has not been able to give an answer.


















Chinese Territory?!
Opinions about Vietnam's legal rights.
For its part, Vietnam asserts that: "[It] has maintained effective occupation of the two archipelagos [Paracel and Spratly islands] at least since the 17th century when they were not under the sovereignty of any country, and the Vietnamese State has exercised effectively, continuously and peacefully its sovereignty over the two archipelagos until the time when they were invaded by the Chinese armed forces."
Hanoi also claims that France administered the islands as part of its protectorate and that these rights passed to Vietnam with the demise of French Indochina. France claimed to have occupied Spratly Island itself in 1930. In April 1975 North Vietnamese forces seized six of the Spratly Islands which had been held by South Vietnamese troops. Chinese and Vietnamese forces clashed in the Spratly Islands in March 1988. The 'Battle of Fiery Cross Reef' left about 75 Vietnamese killed or missing and three Vietnamese ships ablaze.
Vietnam currently occupies 25 Spratly Islands features, the most of any claimant state. It claims all the Spratly Islands, whether on the basis of sovereignty over the islands themselves or as a consequence of claims based on its mainland continental shelf jurisdiction. Jane's information Group: A code of conduct for the South China Sea?
Vietnamese Culture v/s Chinese Culture.
Short Articles by Vu Huu San.
Did you ever watch a Chinese Movie?
Surely, you heard the expressions: "The Need for Revenge".
There are "something" every Chinese knows and believes that the non-Chinese, like Vietnamese, cannot possibly understand.
For centuries the "Great Wall" of the Chinese language and writing system has served to diminish the impact non-Chinese have had on Chinese society. These same linguistic and cultural walls that preserved Chinese culture also transmit it from one generation to another in what amounts to a "secret code."
Please take some minutes to read the following article of Boye Lafayette, from "NTC's Dictionary of China's Cultural Code Worlds", De Mente, 1996 : "The Need for Revenge Baochou (Bah-oh-choeou)" - "Bao Oan Tra Oan" in Vietnamese."
*
Chinese history is gory with stories of Imperial usurpers, victorious warlords, generals, criminal chieftains and others wiping out entire families, including uncles, aunts, and cousins, as a way of ending family lines and future threats.
The same ''final solution" has also traditionally been used by those in power to eliminate intellectual dissidents and military leaders who failed in revolutionary attempts.
Part of this propensity for killing one's enemies came under the heading of baochou (bah-oh-choe-ou) or 'revenge," the need for which was built into Chinese culture.
The Chinese were never restrained by any religious beliefs in the sanctity of life or in the concept of forgiving one's enemies and thereby avoiding sin and gaining favor in the eyes of some deity.
Quite the contrary, they felt under deep obligation to extract their own revenge because there was no God in Chinese heaven who would eventually do it for them, and no body of law on earth that could be depended upon to protect and preserve them.
They were ruled by personal, hierarchical relationships rather than by laws based on equality and human rights. It was left up to individuals to keep these relationships in order.
Without equitable laws to guide, restrain and protect them, the Chinese had to depend upon their personal connections and their reputations or "face" to survive and function within their society.
Because this system was based on personal rather then objective factors, the Chinese developed extreme sensitivity to slights, insults and actions they perceived as threatening to their "face."
Every blemish that they suffered or believed that they had suffered had to be wiped clean. If they were not in a position to revenge themselves overtly, they felt compelled to do it behind the scenes, no matter how long it took.
Baochou thus became a characteristic trait of Chinese behavior, and survived from tribal times down through the ages. Much of the mass slaughter that occurred during the 20-year war between the Nationalists and Communists resulted from this revenge factor.
Chinese Communist Party leaders have routinely taken revenge against critics as well as against competitors within the Party, either imprisoning them or exterminating them.
It is not likely that this trait will be fully exorcised from the psyche of most Chinese until they have lived for two or three generations in a society in which human rights are protected by law, and behavior is based on rational, universal standards of fairness rather than political power and personal idiosyncrasies. Fortunately, the growing number of Chinese who are exposed to Western educations and cultures, and become involved in foreign trade, are leading the way in putting this tribal trait behind them.
*
Vietnamese people are open-ended. One will find in Vietnam a tradition of tolerance inherited from the ancient culture. To them, even one religion is right, others are not necessarily wrong. There is not a such traditional "Bah-oh-choe-ou".
We are proud to be born Vietnamese!
Paracels - Legends of the Vietnamese Watery Realm.
Compiled by Vu Huu San
1-Introduction.
Vietnam is a country of Legends and Myths.
Several legends which were remembered by the Vietnamese generations, expressed their earliest identity as a super-maritime people.
Beyond the details of these legends lies a basic psychological truth of ancient Vietnamese society: sovereign power came from the sea. Lac Long Quan belonged to the watery realm. As we have seen, certain elements of these legends are similar to legendary themes found in the island and coastal world of Southeast Asia. The idea of an aquatic spirit's being the source of political power and legitimacy, which attended the formation of the Vietnamese people in prehistoric times, is the earliest hint of the concept of the Vietnamese as a distinct and self-conscious people. This idea was given clear visual form in the art of the Dong-son bronze drums, where sea birds and amphibians surround boats bearing warriors. (The Birth of Vietnam, Keith Weller Taylor, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1983, 6-7.). Vietnamese legends tell of sea kings and mountain kings; of dragons and fairies ... These stories have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. The stories are a mixture of truth and fantasy. Some of the stories explain Vietnamese customs. Some tell about the history of Vietnam. The stories also have a moral purpose. They teach that those who commit evil deeds will come to a bad end, while those who do good will be rewarded. They teach us important lessons about friendship, family loyalty, and forgiveness of others. They also point out the duty that people owe to their king and their country. (Legends from Vietnam, A Language Arts Program; University of Iowa, 1983, p. 5.)
2-Non-Confucian Traditions in Legends and Myths.
Professor Nguyen Ngoc Bich once wrote: Many traditional Vietnamese myths were originally conceived as instruments of protest, as weapons in the struggle against foreign invaders and foreign ideologies, especially the Chinese Confucian ideology. This form of protest is found again and again in later centuries in Vietnamese history: in the 13th and 14th centuries (through the reaffirmation of old Vietnamese myths); in the 18th century with the protest literature represented by Cong Quynh (or Trang Quynh) and Chang Lia; in the 19th century with the creation of new myths, in the 20th century with the creation of new religions incorporating a great deal of myths (such as Hoa Hao and Caodaism in South Vietnam); and even in the present day with the spontaneous creation of a vast folk literature of protest. (Conclusion: Vietnamese Myths Through the Ages.) Almost every Vietnamese legends represented the background of an aquatic scenery with water creatures and under-sea form of living: dragon, turtle, serpent, fish, pearl, under-water palace… Some tales seem not understandable by the continental Chinese. The main reason was that the vast land-mass of China absorbed their energies. 2634 B.C. The Chinese did not develop as a seafaring nation. Equally, the absence of neighboring nations with whom to trade played a large part in the development of the introspective conservatism of the Chinese…In the legends of China, chronicled in the Shu Ching (Canon of History), the first three emperors, Fu Hsi, Shen Nung and Huang Ti, are each credited with a share in the invention of all the main activities of the people, including matrimony, building houses and the introduction of a calendar, but no mention is made of the sea, ships or of fishing (although hunting is mentioned). It is against this background that the virtual absence of Chinese sea-legend and sea sagas has to be viewed. (The Maritime History of the World, by Duncan Haws and Alex A. Hurst-A Chronological Survey of Maritime Events From 5,000 B.C. until the present Day, Teredo Books LTD., Brighton Sussex MCMLXXXV (1985). 
Vietnam Sovereignty
PREFACE & POSTFACE         
(Eastern Sea Geography and Paracel, Spratly Archipelagoes by Vu Huu San)
I - PREFACE
At present time, five countries in the area are claiming that a number of islands in Vietnam's Spratly Islands belong either wholly or partly to their sovereignty. These countries are: Communist China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. The Paracel Islands were absorbed militarily by Communist China in 1974.
In addition to using force and violence to occupy some islands, Communist China has carried more systematic actions. In 1983, Communist China produced a new map that expands the limits of the Eastern Sea, which they renamed South Sea. On that new map, the entire South China Sea falls within the sovereignty of China, extending eastward to the Philippines coastline, westward to the Vietnam seacoast, and southward to Malaysia. In February l 992, the Chinese Communists issued a law stating that military vessels and scientific vessels (meaning oil rigs) going through these waters must request their permission. In May 1992, they agreed to let the American oil company, Crestone, start drilling operations within an area of 25,000 square kilometers lying west of the Paracel Islands. They have on several occasions allowed oil survey vessels to sail deeply into the Gulf of Tonkin, close to Haiphong seaport and within seventy miles of Thai-Binh. To support these assertions of sovereignty they sent a group of mainland scholars to Taiwan to cooperate with local scholars to set up a joint China-Taiwan agency that categorically announced that the entire maritime area mentioned above belongs to China! That joint agency has the responsibility to collect, study and disseminate materials that would demonstrate China's sovereignty over the entire Eastern Sea area. Beside using the intellectual approach, Communist China during the past several years has prepared military measures to protect those "territorial waters". Because both the Hoang-sa and Truong-sa Islands are located very far from China, the Chinese Communists have reinforced and are reinforcing the Blue Water Fleet in their scheme to control the area through three different measures: (l)They bought from Ukraine an aircraft carrier that can accommodate eighteen SU-27 planes, and also converted a gigantic cargo ship into another aircraft carrier. (2)They bought from Iran the technique of midair refueling in order to increase the range of their fighter planes. (3)They built on Hoang-sa Islands a naval base that has an airfield where fixed-winged airplanes can land on and take off, they also built fresh-water reservoirs, and have presently thousands of troops on that base.
The Chinese Communists' naval strength has also been boosted with twenty-four US-27s newly purchased from Russia as the equivalents of the most up-to-date US-made F-15s, while at the same time has been reinforced the submarine force within their fleet. Thus far the Chinese communists have occupied eight islands in the Spratlys, setting up sovereignty markers on each of them. During the past few months, they have built a base in the area of underwater reefs which the Philippines had previously claimed as part of their sovereignty. When the Philippines protested, the Chinese communists first denied, then confirmed that the area simply serves as living quarters for Chinese fishermen working there. Just a few days ago, the Philippines ordered that base destroyed despite the fact that the day before both sides had just started negotiations in Beijing with a view to resolving the differences. No one can deny that both the Spratlys and the Paracels belong to Vietnam. No one has the right to take advantage of the current weakness of the Vietnamese Communists due to the wasting of national resources during the past few decades to try to parcel out and occupy the territory or the sea space of Vietnam.
The Vietnamese Communists must bear total responsibility for having let the Spratlys and the Paracels fall into the hands of foreign countries, and they must assume the task of recovering those lost islands. The Vietnamese Communists cannot ignore these vital facts. if they invoke the inferiority of their navy and air forces in the defense of territorial waters, they will be even more guilty. Indeed, they have deliberately destroyed the national strength, they have imprisoned or obliterated the powerful South Vietnam's armed forces led by superior cadres of intelligent, experienced and courageous officers. They have used national resources for the aggressive war against Cambodia in order to assist in the hegemony scheme of the Soviet Union. All this has resulted in the exhaustion and bankruptcy of national union, the breakup of that solidarity which is so essential to the national defense.
Rather than to the other countries, the Spratlys and the Paracels belong to Vietnam from the viewpoints of geography, history and legislation as well as sovereignty.
In late July 1994 when a minority of Chinese Communist scholars in cahoots with a minority of Taiwan scholars brazenly claimed sovereignty over those archipelagoes, Vietnamese intellectuals in the United States met in California to issue a statement affirming Vietnam's sovereignty over the Spratlys and the Paracels in the Eastern Sea.
In response to that declaration, Scholar Vu Huu San undertook a research project on the geography of Bien Bong (Eastern Sea) and ore those islands to demonstrate Vietnamese sovereignty over them. The research has been completed, resulting in this book "Dia-ly Bien Dong Voi Hoang-Sa va Truong-Sa" (Eastern Sea Geography and the Paracel, Spratly Archipelagoes).
This study is extremely rigorous and quite revealing. The author has demonstrated solid knowledge in oceanography, geology, biology, botany, and culturology. His study has linked data on those islands with the Vietnamese mainland to prove that the archipelagoes are a natural extension of Vietnam's continental shelf. Moreover, being a former high- ranking officer of the Republic of Vietnam Navy who had led many operations around those islands and observed them closely, the author is able to describe in details those islands, with regard to their forms and shapes, dimensions, flora, geology, resources, etc... including the exact location of each island vis-a-vis other ones, the Vietnamese coastline, and the coastline of each of those countries that have made claims, namely Communist China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
The author does not overlook aspects of international maritime law that pertain to the Spratlys and the Paracels. Even the problem of historical implementing Vietnamese sovereignty over those islands has been appropriately addressed.
The data presented in this research work have clearly demonstrated that Vietnam has sovereignty over these waters.
The materials cited in reference are both abundant and pertinent. Scholar Vu Huu San has referred to many important documents written by the most authoritative authors. The book also contained 133 maps, graphs and pictures.
The Committee for the Protection of Vietnam's Territorial Integrity, founded by a group of Vietnamese intellectuals in the USA, is very honored to present this valuable book by scholar Vu Huu San.
Stanford University, March 24,1995.
The Committee for the Protection of Vietnam's Territorial Integrity,
Chairman of the Board,
Dr. Nguyen VanCanh, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
II - POSTFACE
In the Preface, Dr. Nguyen Van Canh has just stressed both the high scientific standard and the timely significance of Dia Ly Bien Dong voi Hoang-Sa va Truong-Sa by Scholar Vu Huu-San.
This postface will confine itself to summarizing the book's main points and to the confusion to be cleared away between the Vietnamese called Bien Dong and the Chinese-called Nan-Hai.
Concerning the book's main points, they may be briefly summarized as follows:
1) From the remotest times, Bien Dong (The Vietnamese Eastern Sea) was the cradle for the seaoriented culture of the sea-faring Viet people.
2) Bien Dong shows a great deal of marvelous physical phenomena which have never been known in any other sea in the world.
3) Bien Dong is obviously characterized by both its specific fauna and flora.
4) Bien Dong is a gigantic reservoir of natural energies and resources which have been accumulated therein from time immemorial down to our own days. The oil field which has been formed at its bottom by organic substances driven from the Vietnam's rivers to Bien Dong is unmistakably a Vietnamese national heritage.
5) The sea-faring Viet people who were our remote ancestors did have the run of Bien Dong several millennia ago. Hoang-Sa and Truong-Sa Archipelagoes located in that sea have been their centers of activities since the end of the Ice Age.
6) For their geographic location, both Hoang-Sa and Truong-Sa Archipelagoes are quite nearer Vietnam than China's mainland. Both in terms of physical geography, are obviously located on the natural prolongation of Vietnam's mainland.
With regard to the Vietnamese-called Bien Dong and the Chinese-called Nan-Hai, some clarification should be made about them as follows :
Vietnam has more than 2000 kilometers of sea-coast starting from its northern frontier with China to the Gulf of Siam/ Thailand.
The eastern part of that long sea-coast has had, since time immemorial, the appellation of Bien Dong. This appellation has been widely used among the common people in Vietnam as evidenced by its frequent appearance in Vietnamese folk-songs and common sayings.
It has been found translated into foreign languages, particularly into French as l'Ocean Oriental (cf. Methode pour etudier la geographie, 1736, by l'Abbe Nicolas DuFresnoy [1674-1755]).
Following are a few instances of those folk-songs and common sayings related to Bien Dong:
-- "Our debt of gratitude to our father is like a soaring high mountain!
Our debt of gratitude to our mother is like the Bien Dong immense waters!"
-- "If husband and wife get along well together, they would easily drain of even the Bien Dong's waters!"
-- "Poor Da-trang (a kind of small crab) vainly attempting to carry sand for filling up the Bien Dong!"
-- "In case someone ("ai" implying some damsel addressed to by a young man) has seen enough of Huong-Thuy and Ngu-Binh, Let her go together with me to Binh-Dinh, if she is pleased with the proposal. True, Binh- Dinh is not as smart as the Capital of the Kingdom, But Binh-Dinh has no dry, arid ground. Furthermore, it has six chains of high mountains. There are also the Bien Dong with its overflowing waves, And the high older tower which will be used as a pen-brush to write down your hero's name on the blue clouds!"
-- 'This morning as I (King Dinh Tien-Hoang) got to the Bien Dong for a bath, I have subdued an emerging nine-twisted dragon, Heigh-ho! Where are you going to, riding on that kind of snake? I am going to stroke the Tiger's beard! (= to face up to my formidable enemy! Heigh-ho!" (cf. So-thao dia-danh Viet-Nam qua Ca-dao, Phong-dao va Tuc-ngu by Ha Mai-Phuong & Chu ThuHang).
As can just be seen, the Bien Dong appellation has so deeply entered the popular consciousness that it has been commonly used by the Vietnamese to denominate the Eastern Sea of Vietnam. However an awkward question may arise: Why has that Vietnamese-called Bien Dong also been called Nan-Hai by the Chinese and Mer de Chine (meridionale) and South China Sea by the Westerners?
To properly solve the question, let us try looking up the above mentioned appellations in the most authoritative dictionaries!
According to the Chinese dictionary Ts'u Hai, "Nan-Hai is the name of a sea located to the South of Kwangtung and Fuchien, to the West of the Taiwan Straits, to the East of Vietnam, a French colony. In the South there are the Malay Peninsula, Borneo lsland, a British colony, the Philippines, an American colony. For these reasons, the sovereignty over the Sea is common to such countries as China, England, France, USA and Japan (cf. Ts'u Hai, reprinted in 1948, p. 218).
Another Chinese dictionary, Ts'u Yuan gives a similar definition of Nan-Hai and also locates it to the south of Kwangtung and Fuchien, however we find here a novel detail: the demarcation between the Hai-Nan Straits and the Gulf of Tonkin (Ts'u Yuan, 1949 re-edition, p. 234). Always in Ts'u Yuan but in its Hong Kong 1951 revised edition, reprinted in 1984, Nan-Hai is presented as follows: "Nan-Hai is the name of a sea which was formerly called Chang-Hai (SinoVietnamese: Chuong-Hai). It is called by the foreigners South China Sea, located to the South of Fuchien and Kwangtung, to the West of Taiwan and the Philippines, to the East of Indochina Peninsula and the Malay Peninsula, to the North of Borneo Island and Sumatra lsland. For sometime in the past Nan Hai did cover even the Indian Ocean; therefore, we should not confine its limits to the areas as just mentioned above." (cf. Ts'u Yuan, Kai Pien Pan, Hong Kong 1984, p. 94.)
In the preceding definitions of Nan-Hai as just quoted, there are the following note worthy details:
1) Chang Hai, the former name of Nan Hai is located in the south 50 miles from Hai Phong (Kwangtung) district. Thus, Nan Hai is located to the South of Fuchien and Kwangtung as also mentioned in the preceding documents.
2) Let us note a new detail in Ts'u Yuan, Kai Pien Pan namely: Nan Hai is called South China Sea by the foreigners (that's the Westerners).
3) We don't know on what historical basis, Ts'u Yuan Kai Pien Pan has claimed that "for sometime in the past Nan Hai did cover even the Indian Ocean"!
A comparative reexamination of the three preceding documents on Nan Hai has led us to the following remarks:
a) All the three have located Nan Hai to the South of Fuchien and Kwangtung.
b) The first document, that is Ts'u Hai (1948) stated that Nan Hai is stretching far to the south to reach the Malay Peninsula and advocated that China shared sovereignty over Nan Hai together with England, France, the US and Japan.
c) The second document, that is Ts'u Yuan (1949) was the only one to give a demarcation between the Hai Nan Straits and the Gulf of Tonkin then a French colony.
d) The last document, that is Ts'u Yuan, Kai Pien Pan (1951, 1984) took advantage of the ambiguous appellations Mer de Chine (m+ridionale), South China Sea to suggest that Nan Hai might have stretched away very far to the South, for sometime as far as to and beyond the Indian Ocean!
In our humble opinion, formerly Nan Hai of China might have stretched to around the Hai Nan Straits whose name precisely means "an island off South-China".
Our above opinion is based on the following definition of Nan Hai found in a Chinese-English dictionary whose authors are all highly respectable Chinese Scholars: " Nan Hai:
(1) name of a county in Kwangtung Province.
(2) the Southern Sea, stretching from the Taiwan Straits to Kwangtung.
(3) in old China, a term far faraway places in the South." (cf. A New Practical Chinese - English Dictionary - Editor in Chief: Liang Shih-Chiu; Editors: Chu Liang-Chen, David Shao, Jeffrey C. Tung, Chung Lu Shen - The Far East Book Co. LTD, Hong-Kong 1971, page 121, column 2).
We have found in the Ts'u Yuan, Kai Pien Pan the new appellation Nan Chung Kuo Hai for Nan Hai, appellation which must have been influenced by such appellations as South China Sea, Mer de Chine (meridionale) given by the Westerners. (cf. supra Ts'u Yuan, Kai Pien Pan: "Ngoai nhan xung Nam Trung-Quoc Hai").
All these three appellations are very vague terms that may be interpreted variously, they have been obviously interpreted by the Ts'u Yuan, Kai Pien Pan as meaning the Chinese Sea to the South whereas, in fact, they only mean the sea off South-China as evidenced by the definition No 2 in the Chinese - English dictionary by Liang Shih Chi et alii.
The real meaning of Nan Hai as being: the Sea off South-China has been clearly confirmed by the definitions respectively given by the Dai Kanwa Jiten by T. Morohashi, vol. 2 (Tokyo 1957, page 566, column 2) and the Longman Dictionary of English. Language and Culture (London 1992, p. 209, col. 2) as follows: "Nan Hai = Minami - Shina Kai" (= Sea of South-China). China Sea = the part of the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of China."
*
After the Chinese mainland fell to the Communists' control and especially since 1954, for political reasons, the Chinese Maoists have rewritten the histories and reconstructed the maps of both China and the Southeast Asia to carry out Mao Zedong's expansionists designs. One of their urgent tasks is to redefine the name Nan-Hai so as to achieve their hegemonist policy.
At present, Communist China has declared its sovereignty over 80 per cent of the so-called Nan-Hai, leaving only a small portion of the adjacent international waters to Vietnam and other disputing coastal countries. Due to historical, economical and political reasons, it has no regards for protests from Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. It considers Nan-Hai as its "inner waters", in the same way as the Roman Empire had dubbed the Mediterranean Sea Mare Nostrum, claiming Roman sovereignty over it!
Communist China did not recognize the 1954 Geneva Convention on the Law of the Sea (CLOS) with its regulations regarding the territorial, contiguous waters and continental shelf of the coastal countries. However, in fact, it had no protest against the 1968 Republic of Vietnam's claim to the Vietnamese continental shelf. After defeating South Vietnam, Hanoi also reclaimed its sovereignty over the territorial and continental shelf waters. Again, there was no protest from Communist China.
The most recent wrong doing by Communist China was to build up several military installations on the Mischief Reefs and other underwater reefs in the extreme-east of the Spratly Archipelago which the Philippines have been claiming as part of their territory. Communist China has beefed up its islands' occupational forces and naval power in its so called "Inner waters", showing thereby its will to control the Eastern Sea Archipelagoes with their ample petroleum and gas potential resources, much as if "a breast-feeder forcing her big breast onto the baby's mouth to stop him from crying"! Communist China is used to quiet down the weaker countries by pressuring them into bilateral negotiations in view to finally getting the upper hands over them.
In accordance with the Vietnamese common belief in the respect for the whole truth and the international justice, the Committee for the Protection of Vietnam's Territorial Integrity solemnly requests that all matters of disagreements must be taken to the International Court of Justice in the Hague.
Dia-ly Bien Dong voi Hoang-Sa va Truong-Sa by Scholar Vu Huu-San is a strictly scientific essay, leaving out for the time being the most decisive historical and legal considerations.
We totally agree with him that the Vietnamese have always a genuine love for the Truth and a scrupulous respect for the Law, that they are always the devout and earnest believers in the splendid future resulting from a fair international cooperation. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is just capable of bringing back the now disturbed harmony between the rival countries by realizing a stable agreement on an international regime for the Sea If the mankind and civilization have made so far such an advance as today, It is obviously due to a universal consciousness of the established international order.
With the current international Public Law, there is no reason at all for a bellicose country to attack and occupy by force another weaker country's territory!
Dia-ly Bien Dong voi Hoang-Sa va Truong-Sa aims primarily at telling out all the truth about the Eastern Sea.
Once the common people and the finest Chinese independent scholars of China have become quite aware of the real situation, they will certainly be ready to thoroughly sympathize with the Vietnamese and from the Eastern Sea will hopefully disappear for ever the "men killing men" horrible misdeeds! There is no reason why so many different human races living together around the Eastern Sea cannot make good their long overdue dream of everlasting peace and mutual cooperation!
Nguyen Du-Phu -- Ha Mai-Phuong

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