VIETNAMS CLAIM

Vietnam claims that it has occupied the Spratly and the Paracel islands at least since the
17th century, when they were not under the sovereignty of any state until they were
invaded by the Chinese forces. (Dzurek, 1996)

When France annexed the islands as terra nullius in the 1930sat the time, occupation by
force was a valid method of acquiring sovereignty over territory. Great Britain, which had
controlled some of the Spratly Islands in the 1800s, abandoned its claims following the
French annexation and effective occupation. Frances title to the archipelago was ceded to
South Vietnam in the 1950s and the South Vietnamese government (and subsequently a
united Vietnam) effectively and peacefully controlled the islands until the Republic of China
forces illegally occupied Itu Aba Island in 1956 and the Peoples Republic of China forces
illegally occupied a number of islets in the archipelago in 1988. (Pedrozo, 2014)

Another basis for Vietnams claim are the maps that the Danang Historical Association
collected. The association claim to have over 150 maps, books, and documents published
by domestic and foreign publishers between 1618-1859, and 1629-1908 indicating that the
Spratlys and the Paracels are part of Vietnam. (Historians claim Vietnams sovereignty over
Paracels, Spratlys, 2016)

Da Nang Citys Institute for Socio-Economic Development vice president Tran Duc Anh Son,
also said that an atlas (Atlas von China), published by German publisher Verlag von
Dietrich Reimer in 1885 confirmed that the Paracels and the Spratlys belong to Vietnams
sovereignty. This atlas is currently stored at Harvard University in the United States.
(Historians claim Vietnams sovereignty over Paracels, Spratlys, 2016)

Sources:

Dzurek, Daniel J.; Schofield, Clive H. (1996). The Spratly Islands dispute: who's on first?
Pedrozo, Raul (2014). China Versus Vietnam: An Analysis of the Competing Claims in the
South China Sea
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/141389/historians-claim-vietnams-sovereignty-over-
paracels-spratlys