On January 4, the State Council of the People's Republic of China promulgated the Opinions on Promoting the Construction and Development of International Tourism Islands in Hainan, stressing that efforts be made to actively and steadily promote tourism in Xisha Qundao and orderly development of tourism on uninhabited islands.
On January 11,the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China spokesman pointed out at a press conference regarding the recent expulsion of six Chinese fishing boats by the Philippine military in the adjacent waters of Huangyan Dao that Huangyan Dao was part of the Chinese territory, that the Chinese fishermen had been engaged in normal fishing operations in its vicinity for a long time, and that the action of the Philippine side seriously disturbed their peaceful production activities, which sparked the grave concern of China.
From January 22 to 25, the Department of Research and Development of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indonesia, convened the first informal seminar on "the potential conflicts on the South China Sea" as a convener.
On January 30, with regard to Vietnam's intrusion and occupation of islands and reefs of China's Nansha Qundao as well as the white paper published in September 1979, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China published a document titled China's Sovereignty over Xisha Qundao and Nansha Qundao Are Indisputable, demonstrating China's sovereignty over the islands.
The Vietnamese side should get back to its original stance of acknowledging this very fact, respect China's sovereignty over these two islands, and retreat all the personnel from the islands of Nansha Qundao it occupied".In September, the Chinese Navy began to construct two permanent light houses on Langhua Jiao and Beijiao Jiao of Xisha Qundao.O
In the World Atlas compiled and drew by the cartographic division of General Staff Department of the Vietnamese People's Army, there was such annotation written in Vietnamese as "Xisha Qundao (China)", and "Nansha Qundao (China)", indicating that they are belonging to China.
In May, the Chinese People's Liberation Army liberated Hainan Dao. The remains of the Kuomintang army retreated to Taiwan Dao. For Nansha Qundao and Xisha Qundao were a little bit far away from Taiwan Dao and was difficult to get supplies, therefore, the Taiwan authorities decided to withdraw the garrison troops on Taiping Dao of Nansha Qundao and Yongxing Dao of Xisha Qundao back to Taiwan. As such, for a period of time, there was no one garrisoned on Taiping Dao and other Islands.
After the Revolution of 1911, Guangdong Provincial Government declared that Xisha Qundao be put under the jurisdiction of Yaxian County (today's Sanya City) of Hainan Island.
The book Zhi Nan Zheng Fa (the Orthodox Principles about How to Use a Compass) compiled in the early Qing Dynasty had records about the "Wanli Changsha" and the "Wanli Shitang". Herein, the "Wanli Changsha" refers to Nansha Qundao, while the "Wanli Shitang" refers to Xisha Qundao.
According to historical records, as early as the 2nd century BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Chinese people had already conducted navigation on the South China Sea. And they had discovered Xisha Qundao and Nansha Qundao in their long-time navigation and production practices.
Overview
Resources & Environment
