Paracel Islands
are a small group of about fifteen to thirty low coral islands and reefs located in the potentially oil-rich South China Sea about 280 kilometers southeast of Hainan Island, or about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines. Stimulated by the strategic location and the possibility of nearby off shore oil deposits, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan, and Vietnam all lay claim to all or part of the Paracels Islands. The United Nations Law of the Sea provides for peaceful resolution of disputed seabed territory. The Paracels fall under U.N. jurisdiction in regard to such disputes between China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The islands were originally part of Vietnam and then part of French Indochina until World War II, when they were occupied by the Japanese. After the war, they passed briefly to China in 1945 (when an airfield was constructed), and then to the Republic of Vietnam. The Republic of Vietnam occupied the islands until 1974, when China seized them by force. The Paracel Islands have a total coastline distance of about 518 kilometers, have a high point of fourteen meters, have a tropical climate, have no natural resources (though their economic zone includes oil and natural gas deposits) or arable land, and are most susceptible to typhoons as their biggest natural hazard.
Further Reading
Admiralty, Naval Intelligence Divison, Great Britain. (1943) Indo-China. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Geographical Handbook Series.
Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (1998) Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. Oxford, U.K: Oxford University Press.
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