The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands and the Hoang Sa Archipelago, are disputed archipelago in the South China Sea.
The Paracel Islands dispute is slightly more complex.
The archipelago includes about 130 small coral islands and reefs, most grouped into the northeast Amphitrite Group or the western Crescent Group.
This is almost equidistant from China and Vietnam.
Beijing says that references to the Paracel Islands as a part of China’s sovereign territory can be found in 14th-century writings from the Song Dynasty.
Vietnam on the other hand, says that historical texts from at least the 15th century show that the islands were a part of its territory.
These islands also find mentioned in records starting from the 16th century by explorers who led expeditions to the East.
These include the Portuguese, British, Dutch, French, and Spanish.
They have all written about the Paracel Islands in various texts.
Colonial powers of the French-Indochina further accelerated the tensions with regard to the Islands due to their colonial policies in the 20th century.
By 1954, tensions had dramatically increased between China and Vietnam over the archipelago.
In January 1974, China and Vietnam fought over their territorial disputes after which China took over control of the islands.
In retaliation, in 1982, Vietnam said it had extended its administrative powers over these islands.
In 1999, Taiwan jumped into the fray laying its claim over the entire archipelago.
Since 2012, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam have attempted to reinforce their claims on the territory.
They have engaged in the construction of government administrative buildings, tourism, land-reclamation initiatives, etc.
Countries have also established and expanded their military presence on the archipelago.
