In order to maintain China’s territorial integrity and better build and defend China’s maritime territories, China has started to reclaim and build islands in the South China Sea on a large scale in 2013. This has aroused heated discussions among Chinese netizens, and many people talk about China’s construction in this time. The powerful strength shown in
Through a large amount of investment and large-scale construction, and under huge international pressure, we have finally achieved something in the South China Sea, and we have taken a very solid step of great strategic significance. But we must not be blindly optimistic. We must see us. Those countries that invade and occupy China’s South China Sea islands and reefs are not idle, they are always deliberately calculating how to take the illegally invaded China’s maritime territories as their own forever, and do their best to this end, especially Vietnam. Busy is the happiest.
Vietnam is our close neighbor, but unfortunately this neighbor has a problem that always remains unchanged.
The Nansha Islands and its adjacent waters have been an inalienable part of Chinese territory since ancient times. The Chinese people have a long history of discovering and developing the Nansha Islands. It is an iron fact that successive Chinese governments exercised sovereignty over the Nansha Islands.
Until the middle of the 20th century, all countries in the world recognized China’s sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and its adjacent waters. No one has ever questioned it, and Vietnam has recognized it even more.
On June 15, 1956, Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister Yong Wenqian received Li Zhimin, the Chargé d’affaires of the Chinese Consulate in Vietnam, publicly stated:
“According to information from Vietnam, historically, the Xisha and Nansha Islands should belong to Chinese territory.”
Le Lu, Acting Director of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, who was present here at the time, publicly admitted:
“Historically, the West and Nansha Islands belonged to China as early as the Song Dynasty.”
In the general school geography textbook published by Vietnam Education Press in 1974, it clearly stated in the lesson “The People’s Republic of China”:
“From Nansha and Xisha islands to Hainan Island and Taiwan Island… it forms a Great Wall for the defense of mainland China.”
However, in recent years, Vietnam and other related countries have coveted the huge economic benefits hidden in the South China Sea. Instead of recognizing the Nansha Islands as part of China’s position in the past, they went back and forth to claim all or part of China’s Nansha Islands. Some countries even took advantage of our time. Insufficient strength and openly invaded part of China’s South China Sea islands and reefs when they were not able to take care of them.
Vietnam is the country that has occupied the most islands and reefs of China’s Nansha Islands. Since the 1970s, Vietnam has illegally invaded and occupied 29 islands and reefs of China’s Nansha Islands.
After Vietnam illegally invaded and occupied China’s islands and reefs, it has continued to build facilities and deploy weapons on the occupied islands and reefs to achieve the purpose of permanent occupation.
Vietnam was the first country to reclaim land in the South China Sea, two to thirty years earlier than us. Although restricted by conditions, Vietnam’s construction of islands and reefs in the South China Sea has been slowly advancing in the form of “foolish men moving mountains”, but it has not been able to stand for many years. Through day-to-day and persistent efforts, Vietnam has now made some illegal encroachment through artificial reclamation. The area of islands and reefs has doubled and become highly militarized and localized.
After China carried out large-scale reclamation and construction of islands, Vietnam accelerated the pace of reclamation and construction of invaded and occupied islands and reefs, and once tried to imitate China. After being frustrated, it was not discouraged. After China stopped building islands, it has continued construction. , Seize the time to reclaim land, build facilities and deploy weapons on the invaded islands and reefs.
According to statistics, in recent years, Vietnam has reclaimed land from 10 invaded islands and reefs, and upgraded military installations on the islands and reefs.
Now, let’s take a look at what Vietnam has made of the invaded and occupied South China islands and reefs?
1. Nungwi Island. Nanwei Island is the fourth largest island in China’s Nansha Islands, with an original area of 0.15 square kilometers. Nanwei Island is located in the southwest of the Nansha Islands, and is the only natural island out of the water in the southwest of Nansha. Nangwi Island is 103 kilometers northeast of Huayang Island, where people are stationed by China, and 460 kilometers northwest of Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. It is located in the center of the South China Sea shipping channel. It is an important location for navigation in the South China Sea. The nearby waters are rich in oil and gas resources.
For generations, the waters near Nanwei Island have been traditional fishing grounds for Chinese fishermen. Chinese fishermen have lived on the island all year round, building houses and digging wells on the island. After the end of World War II, the Kuomintang army sent troops to station on the island for many years, and later evacuated from the typhoon. Vietnam took the opportunity to invade and occupy it. It has been illegally occupied by Vietnam for more than 40 years.
After Vietnam invaded and occupied Nanwei Island, it regarded Nanwei Island as a maritime outpost of Vietnam, invested heavily in the construction of Nanwei Island, and began artificial reclamation of Nanwei Island in 2016. Vietnam uses ships to transport cement, sand, and stones from the mainland to reclaim the sea by cofferdams on the reefs, and use people to carry their shoulders and shoulders to fill the sea in the original way.
Although the efficiency is very low, after two years of continuous and uninterrupted efforts, Vietnam has more than doubled the land area of Nungwi Island to 0.34 square kilometers, and the length of the airport runway has been extended from 600 meters to 1200 meters, which can be taken off and landed. Su-30 fighter.
Vietnam has built a large number of military and civilian facilities on Nungwi Island. In terms of military affairs, Vietnam has built missile positions, artillery positions, radar stations, radio towers, airstrips and other facilities on Nanwei Island, with hundreds of heavy troops stationed there, and a military command center has been established on Nanwei Island.
In terms of administration and civil use, Vietnam has built docks, hospitals, schools, post offices, and temples on Nungwi Island. In addition, roads, residential areas and freshwater storage ponds, wastewater treatment areas, military family areas, fishermen’s service centers, etc. have been built. The Vietnamese authorities have also illegally designated Nanwei Island as “Changsha Island County” and are responsible for the management of nearby islands and reefs. Near the sea.
Through years of hard work, Vietnam has built wind power and photovoltaic power generation systems on Nanwei Island. Nowadays, 24-hour power supply has been realized on Nanwei Island, which basically meets the needs of people living and military facilities on the island. The electricity is also used for desalination production.
In order to cause the de facto occupation of Nanwei Island and gain international recognition, Vietnam has accelerated its immigration to Nanwei Island in recent years.
According to a report on the Vietnamese website, in order to encourage domestic residents of Vietnam to immigrate to Nungwi Island, Vietnam has formulated many preferential policies and compensation conditions. Under the encouragement, some Vietnamese residents have already immigrated to Nungwi Island. There are currently more than 300 people on the island.
2. Sin Cowe Island.
Sin Cowe island(Jinghong Island) is the largest island in the Jiuzhang Group of the Nansha Islands and the only island that is above sea level all the year round. It was named after the deputy envoy Wang Jinghong who accompanied Zheng He to the West.
In 1973, Jinghong Island was invaded by South Vietnam. Since April 2014, Vietnam began large-scale reclamation on Jinghong Island, which has expanded the area of the island by more than five times in a few years. Nowadays, Jinghong Island is equipped with various facilities such as docks, towers, medical stations, wind power stations, radar stations, and gun towers. There are also military family areas and residential areas. Vietnam has more than 100 soldiers stationed on the island.
3. West Reef. The West Reef is a coral atoll located in the Yinqing Group Reef of the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea. It is in the south of the Yongshu Reef controlled by China. It was invaded by Vietnam in 1988. Beginning in 2013, Vietnam has reclaimed the West Reef and reclaimed land. It took nearly three years to expand the land area of West Reef by 35 times. The land area of West Reef is 0.283 square kilometers. In recent years, Vietnam has built several coastal defense facilities, concrete facilities and bunkers on the West Reef, as well as a large tower-like communication facility, planted with vegetation, and built an administrative building.
4. Bisheng reef. Bisheng Reef is located to the northeast of Anbo Sandbar. It is a small atoll with a length of 9 kilometers and a width of 1.8 kilometers. It is composed of sand and reefs. It was invaded by Vietnam in 1978. In May 2016, Vietnam illegally landfilled the Bisheng Reef. Now it has been expanded into an artificial island. A courtyard-style reef barrier has been built on the reef. There is another reef outlet in the southwest of the island. A reef was built, military facilities, volleyball courts, vegetable fields, and simple docks were also built. There were about 30 Vietnamese garrison guards.
5. Zhongjiao. Zhongjiao is a coral reef in the western part of the Nansha Islands. In the middle of Yinqing Group Reef, it is one of the four dry reefs of Yinqing Group. Zhongjiao was invaded and occupied by Vietnam in 1978. Vietnam illegally landfilled Zhongjiao in 2016 and built a fortress and other structures.
6. yeing the green sandbar, Dunqian sandbar, and Nanhua Reef. Vietnam is also illegally reclaiming the sea and building islands in the invaded Zhanqing Sandbar, Dunqian Sandbar, and Nanhua Reef. More than 10,000 square meters of land area is filled in the southeast side of Nanhua Reef.
7. Nanzi Island. Nanzi Island is the sixth largest island in China’s Nansha Islands, with a land area of 0.13 square kilometers. It was seized by the Philippines in 1971, and South Vietnam took it from the Philippines in 1975. Vietnam has also landfilled Nanzi Island in recent years.
In recent years, Vietnam has built concrete fortifications connected to bunkers, air defense system launch positions, helipads, underground passage networks, etc., and deployed air defense missiles on the islands and reefs occupied by West Reef and Jinghong Island.
Vietnam has expanded two bunker-shaped facilities on the East Reef and Liumen Reef, which are mostly submerged under water, and connected with the former bunker-shaped structures on the island reef.
It is also reported that in recent years, Vietnam has deployed newer, longer-range weapons systems on the islands occupied by the Nansha Islands. In 2016, Vietnam deployed a long-range rocket launcher with a range of 150 kilometers imported from Israel on the islands of the Spratly Islands. All of China’s bases in the Spratly Islands are within its range.
A large number of facts have shown that Vietnam is continuing to build defensive capabilities on the islands and reefs of China’s Nansha Islands that it invades, and strengthens its deterrence by enhancing the ability to cover military installations on China’s islands and reefs.
We must be soberly aware that when China is engaged in the construction of the Nansha Islands, Vietnam has not only been idle, but has increased investment and accelerated the progress of land-based and militarized islands and reefs invaded.
In the absence of large-scale equipment, they relied on the primitive method of “Foolish Old Man to Move Mountains” to reclaim land from the sea, and used the geographical advantage of being close to Nansha to achieve their goals.
Compared with our country, Vietnam has the support of the United States and other countries. The United States and other countries have implemented double standards, criticized China for reclamation on its own maritime territories, and adopted a conniving attitude towards Vietnam’s illegal occupation. Just as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said: China’s reclamation activities have stopped, but Vietnam is still continuing.
In recent years, Vietnam’s increase in the rate of reclamation and land creation is nothing more than a delusion to occupy China’s South China Sea islands and reefs permanently.
As China’s comprehensive national strength has increased substantially, and as China’s navy and air force have become more and more powerful, we now have sufficient capabilities to accomplish what we did not have the strength to do in the past. It is only a matter of time before the Nansha Islands were invaded and returned to the embrace of the motherland. There is no doubt about this. In the future, we will definitely do a lot in the South China Sea of the motherland.