Hainan Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority
Encyclopedia
The Administration Office for Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands is a county-level subdivision of Hainan Province in the People's Republic of China
. It exercises political sovereignty, both actual and claimed, over three disputed archipelago
es in the South China Sea
.
at the township level (4th-level subdivision): -
Given approval by the State Council
on the 24 March 1953, the "Guangdong Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority" was established as a county-level administrative division on Woody Island
, the largest in area among the disputed South China Sea Islands
. During the Cultural Revolution, when Revolutionary Committee
s were being set up across the country, it was upgraded to the "Guangdong Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Revolutionary Committee" on the 4 March 1969. On the 22 October 1981 the original Authority was restored. Administration was transferred to Hainan
on National Day, 1984, when the Hainan Administrative Region was established, followed by the establishment of Hainan Province on the 13 April 1988. On the 19 September 1988, it was officially changed to the "Hainan Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority". On the 25 December 2006, Woody Island census-town's first-ever Residents' and Fishers' Congress was held. 3 representatives at the township and village levels were selected to represent the census-town's Neighborhood Committee of the North and South Villages. The Neighborhood Committee began work on Woody Island the following day with an office at the Border Guards of the Paracels' Police Station. They were the first ever actual subdivisions created within the county-level authority.
Before the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea
's (UNCLOS III) addendums to the Law of the Sea, the Central government had always maintained a staggering claim to nearly 3.5 million km2 in maritime area of the South China Sea, which equated to roughly one-third of China's total land area. The Central government claimed this as part of China's sovereign territorial waters
, commonly known as "China's blue territories". It was delineated on maps by 9 or 10 dashed lines. Although many Chinese maps published after UNCLOS III still retain these dashed lines, they have no legal value and are used solely as a reference line to denote that "all features (islands, reefs, banks, shoals, cays, sands) located within the dashed lines are sovereign territory of the People's Republic of China". UNCLOS III, which has been ratified by China, went into force on the 16 November 1994. New baselines
of the mainland
and the Paracels were released on the 15 May 1996. The addendum for the EEZ's extension via Continental Shelves (in the legal sense) was also handed to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). Coupled with officially published laws of the past, China's new internal waters
and territorial waters
, namely, China's "blue territories", could thus be calculated to an area of approximately 31,000 km2.
. Having a tonnage of 2160 tonnes and a maximum load of 200 personnel, the "Qiongsha 1" (literally "Hainan-South China Sea Islands 1") freighter carried supplies and personnel to and fro between Woody Island and Hainan Island. In 1997, "Qiongsha 1" was destroyed in a typhoon while en route to Zhanjiang
, Guangdong Province
for routine maintenance and upkeep. A smaller "Qiongsha 2" freighter at 1410 tonnes and a load of 100 personnel was commissioned that same year. It operated for 10 years, being decommissioned in the January of 2007. As of 2008, the "lifeboat" of the islands is the "Qiongsha 3" freighter (Tonnage: 2500 tonnes; Load: 200 personnel; Payload: 750 tonnes in cargo; Length: 84 metres; Width: 13.8 metres). This is basically the only means of transportation to and from the islands for non-military personnel (mostly fishers and researchers). Its maiden voyage was on the 10 February 2007, and it has been making regular voyages between Wenchang
's Qinglan Port on southeastern Hainan Island and Woody Island in the Paracels roughly every 20 days. A normal trip takes 13 to 15 hours, navigating between dangerous reefs and banks, through a distance of 186 nautical miles (344.5 km). Although all of the Paracels have been under China's control since the late 1970s, its strategic military position at the frontiers and its status as a disputed island with several claimants' military personnel nearby, have meant a low priority for the development of tourism. Nevertheless, since 2005, the provincial government of Hainan has instituted a small organising panel to investigate and discuss the possibility of opening up tourism to Woody Island and the rest of the Paracels.
-based newspaper, through a telephone interview with Mr. Zhang of the Propaganda Department of Wenchang
, Hainan. It was said that this county-level city
was to be established by the PRC State Council
in November 2007 to administer three disputed archipelago
s in the South China Sea
: the Paracel Islands
, Zhongsha Islands
and the Spratly Islands
. This was to replace the county-level Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority. That the city of Wenchang would provide supplies and logistics to the to-be-established city. The article also stated that Wenchang's municipal party secretary Xie Wenzhang had announced a similar decision at the municipal congress on the 26 October. It was referred to simply as "City X". The article finally concluded with the possibility of the opening of tourism onto Woody Island as a next step. However, there has been no official announcement of such a decision from the Chinese government. The Foreign Ministry of Vietnam
protested the reported establishment, followed by student protests in Hanoi
and Ho Chi Minh City
.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. It exercises political sovereignty, both actual and claimed, over three disputed archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
es in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
.
Subdivisions
The local authority is further subdivided into 3 townsTown (China)
When referring to political divisions of China, town is the standard English translation of the Chinese 鎮 . It is a fourth-level administrative unit, i.e...
at the township level (4th-level subdivision): -
- The ParacelsParacel IslandsThe Paracel Islands, also called Xisha Islands in Chinese and Hoàng Sa Islands in Vietnamese, is a group of islands under the administration of Hainan Province, The People's Republic of China. Vietnam and the Republic of China also claim sovereignty of these islands...
or Xisha Islands - "The West-sands" - Town code: 469037- Governed by the Yongxing Dao Neighborhood Committee at Woody IslandWoody Island, South China SeaWoody Island, also known as Yongxing Island , is one of the major islands of Paracel Islands in South China Sea. It is administrated by the People's Republic of China through the Yongxingdao Neighborhood Committee. It has no indigenous inhabitants, although there are People's Liberation Army...
. - Effectively maintains control over all the features of the Paracels.
- Governed by the Yongxing Dao Neighborhood Committee at Woody Island
- The Zhongsha IslandsMacclesfield BankMacclesfield Bank or Zhongsha Islands is an elongated sunken atoll of underwater reefs and shoals in the South China Sea and part of the disputed South China Sea Islands, centred around , east of the Paracel Islands. Its length exceeds southwest-northeast, with a maximal width of more than...
- "The Middle-sands" - Town code: 469039- Governed by the Zhongsha Islands and Reefs Neighborhood Committee.
- Does not have the actual control of this area.
- The SpratlysSpratly IslandsThe Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea. The archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines and Malaysia , about one third of the way from there to southern Vietnam. They comprise less than four square kilometers of land...
or Nansha Islands - "The South-sands" - Town code: 469038- Governed by the Yongshu Jiao Neighborhood Committee at Fiery Cross Reef.
- Has the actual control over 8 features and James ShoalJames ShoalJames Shoal is a small bank in the South China Sea, with a depth of 20 metres.- Location :It is located about northwest of Bintulu, on the Continental shelf of Borneo...
.
Background
State Council of the People's Republic of China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China , which is largely synonymous with the Central People's Government after 1954, is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the Premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency...
on the 24 March 1953, the "Guangdong Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority" was established as a county-level administrative division on Woody Island
Woody Island, South China Sea
Woody Island, also known as Yongxing Island , is one of the major islands of Paracel Islands in South China Sea. It is administrated by the People's Republic of China through the Yongxingdao Neighborhood Committee. It has no indigenous inhabitants, although there are People's Liberation Army...
, the largest in area among the disputed South China Sea Islands
South China Sea Islands
The South China Sea Islands consist of over 250 around 1-km² islands, atolls, cays, shoals, reefs, and sandbars in the South China Sea, most of which have no indigenous people, many of which are naturally under water at high tide, some of which are permanently submerged...
. During the Cultural Revolution, when Revolutionary Committee
Revolutionary committee
Revolutionary committees or revkoms were Bolshevik-led organizations in Soviet Russia and in areas of its activities established to serve as provisional governments and temporary Soviet administrations in territories under the control of the Red Army in 1918-1920, during the Russian Civil War and...
s were being set up across the country, it was upgraded to the "Guangdong Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Revolutionary Committee" on the 4 March 1969. On the 22 October 1981 the original Authority was restored. Administration was transferred to Hainan
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
on National Day, 1984, when the Hainan Administrative Region was established, followed by the establishment of Hainan Province on the 13 April 1988. On the 19 September 1988, it was officially changed to the "Hainan Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority". On the 25 December 2006, Woody Island census-town's first-ever Residents' and Fishers' Congress was held. 3 representatives at the township and village levels were selected to represent the census-town's Neighborhood Committee of the North and South Villages. The Neighborhood Committee began work on Woody Island the following day with an office at the Border Guards of the Paracels' Police Station. They were the first ever actual subdivisions created within the county-level authority.
Before the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea , which took place from 1973 through 1982...
's (UNCLOS III) addendums to the Law of the Sea, the Central government had always maintained a staggering claim to nearly 3.5 million km2 in maritime area of the South China Sea, which equated to roughly one-third of China's total land area. The Central government claimed this as part of China's sovereign territorial waters
Territorial waters
Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most from the baseline of a coastal state...
, commonly known as "China's blue territories". It was delineated on maps by 9 or 10 dashed lines. Although many Chinese maps published after UNCLOS III still retain these dashed lines, they have no legal value and are used solely as a reference line to denote that "all features (islands, reefs, banks, shoals, cays, sands) located within the dashed lines are sovereign territory of the People's Republic of China". UNCLOS III, which has been ratified by China, went into force on the 16 November 1994. New baselines
Baseline (sea)
A baseline is the line from which the seaward limits of a State's territorial sea and certain other maritime zones of jurisdiction are measured. Normally, a sea baseline follows the low-water line of a coastal State...
of the mainland
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
and the Paracels were released on the 15 May 1996. The addendum for the EEZ's extension via Continental Shelves (in the legal sense) was also handed to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). Coupled with officially published laws of the past, China's new internal waters
Internal waters
A nation's internal waters covers all water and waterways on the landward side of the baseline from which a nation's territorial waters is defined. It includes waterways such as rivers and canals, and sometimes the water within small bays. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of...
and territorial waters
Territorial waters
Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most from the baseline of a coastal state...
, namely, China's "blue territories", could thus be calculated to an area of approximately 31,000 km2.
Facilities
There is a coastal guard station located on Woody Island along with a police station nearby. The town's Residential Committee administers the islands from the same police station. In addition to collected rain water, the islands are resupplied by a freighter which hauls several tonnes of drinking water to Woody Island from Hainan Island. The guards maintain an acre of vegetable garden on the island. There is a common saying in China that travelling abroad is easy compared to a trip to the Paracels. Indeed, before the 1970s, the only means of transportation to and from the islands were by hiring fishers' boats, and even then only Woody Island was accessible, while the rest of the Paracels, the Zhongsha Islands and the Spratlys were only accessible to military personnel. The situation was improved in 1977 with the construction of a freighter given approval by then Premier Zhou EnlaiZhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
. Having a tonnage of 2160 tonnes and a maximum load of 200 personnel, the "Qiongsha 1" (literally "Hainan-South China Sea Islands 1") freighter carried supplies and personnel to and fro between Woody Island and Hainan Island. In 1997, "Qiongsha 1" was destroyed in a typhoon while en route to Zhanjiang
Zhanjiang
Zhanjiang , formerly known as Tsamkong, Tsankiang, Fort-Bayard, and Kwang-Chou-Wan, is a prefecture-level city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province of Southern China, facing the island of Hainan to the south....
, Guangdong Province
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
for routine maintenance and upkeep. A smaller "Qiongsha 2" freighter at 1410 tonnes and a load of 100 personnel was commissioned that same year. It operated for 10 years, being decommissioned in the January of 2007. As of 2008, the "lifeboat" of the islands is the "Qiongsha 3" freighter (Tonnage: 2500 tonnes; Load: 200 personnel; Payload: 750 tonnes in cargo; Length: 84 metres; Width: 13.8 metres). This is basically the only means of transportation to and from the islands for non-military personnel (mostly fishers and researchers). Its maiden voyage was on the 10 February 2007, and it has been making regular voyages between Wenchang
Wenchang
Wenchang is a county-level city located in the north east of Hainan province, China. It was promoted from a county to a city on November 7, 1995, and had a population of 86,551 in 1999...
's Qinglan Port on southeastern Hainan Island and Woody Island in the Paracels roughly every 20 days. A normal trip takes 13 to 15 hours, navigating between dangerous reefs and banks, through a distance of 186 nautical miles (344.5 km). Although all of the Paracels have been under China's control since the late 1970s, its strategic military position at the frontiers and its status as a disputed island with several claimants' military personnel nearby, have meant a low priority for the development of tourism. Nevertheless, since 2005, the provincial government of Hainan has instituted a small organising panel to investigate and discuss the possibility of opening up tourism to Woody Island and the rest of the Paracels.
The "Sansha City"
On 19 November 2007, "Sansha City" was reported by Mingpao, a Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
-based newspaper, through a telephone interview with Mr. Zhang of the Propaganda Department of Wenchang
Wenchang
Wenchang is a county-level city located in the north east of Hainan province, China. It was promoted from a county to a city on November 7, 1995, and had a population of 86,551 in 1999...
, Hainan. It was said that this county-level city
County-level city
A county-level city is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions....
was to be established by the PRC State Council
State Council of the People's Republic of China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China , which is largely synonymous with the Central People's Government after 1954, is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the Premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency...
in November 2007 to administer three disputed archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
s in the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
: the Paracel Islands
Paracel Islands
The Paracel Islands, also called Xisha Islands in Chinese and Hoàng Sa Islands in Vietnamese, is a group of islands under the administration of Hainan Province, The People's Republic of China. Vietnam and the Republic of China also claim sovereignty of these islands...
, Zhongsha Islands
Macclesfield Bank
Macclesfield Bank or Zhongsha Islands is an elongated sunken atoll of underwater reefs and shoals in the South China Sea and part of the disputed South China Sea Islands, centred around , east of the Paracel Islands. Its length exceeds southwest-northeast, with a maximal width of more than...
and the Spratly Islands
Spratly Islands
The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea. The archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines and Malaysia , about one third of the way from there to southern Vietnam. They comprise less than four square kilometers of land...
. This was to replace the county-level Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority. That the city of Wenchang would provide supplies and logistics to the to-be-established city. The article also stated that Wenchang's municipal party secretary Xie Wenzhang had announced a similar decision at the municipal congress on the 26 October. It was referred to simply as "City X". The article finally concluded with the possibility of the opening of tourism onto Woody Island as a next step. However, there has been no official announcement of such a decision from the Chinese government. The Foreign Ministry of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
protested the reported establishment, followed by student protests in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
and Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
.
See also
- South China SeaSouth China SeaThe South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
- South China Sea IslandsSouth China Sea IslandsThe South China Sea Islands consist of over 250 around 1-km² islands, atolls, cays, shoals, reefs, and sandbars in the South China Sea, most of which have no indigenous people, many of which are naturally under water at high tide, some of which are permanently submerged...
- Paracel IslandsParacel IslandsThe Paracel Islands, also called Xisha Islands in Chinese and Hoàng Sa Islands in Vietnamese, is a group of islands under the administration of Hainan Province, The People's Republic of China. Vietnam and the Republic of China also claim sovereignty of these islands...
(Battle of the Paracel Islands) - Macclesfield BankMacclesfield BankMacclesfield Bank or Zhongsha Islands is an elongated sunken atoll of underwater reefs and shoals in the South China Sea and part of the disputed South China Sea Islands, centred around , east of the Paracel Islands. Its length exceeds southwest-northeast, with a maximal width of more than...
- Scarborough ShoalScarborough ShoalScarborough Shoal or Scarborough Reef , more correctly described as a group of islands and reefs in an atoll shape than a shoal, is located between the Macclesfield Bank and Luzon, Philippines in the South China Sea. As with most of the landforms in this sea, the sovereignty of the area is disputed...
- Spratly IslandsSpratly IslandsThe Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea. The archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines and Malaysia , about one third of the way from there to southern Vietnam. They comprise less than four square kilometers of land...
(Johnson South Reef SkirmishJohnson South Reef SkirmishThe Johnson South Reef Skirmish of 1988 was a naval battle that took place between Chinese and Vietnamese forces over Johnson South Reef in the Spratly Islands on March 14, 1988...
) - James ShoalJames ShoalJames Shoal is a small bank in the South China Sea, with a depth of 20 metres.- Location :It is located about northwest of Bintulu, on the Continental shelf of Borneo...
- Pratas IslandsPratas IslandsThe Pratas Islands or Dongsha Islands consists of three islands forming from an atoll located in northeastern South China Sea, southeast of Hong Kong. The islands are governed by the Republic of China . The People's Republic of China claims sovereignty over these islands along with all other...
- Paracel Islands
External links
- Administrative divisions of Hainan Province
- Hainan Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority
- Hainan Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority Woody Island Census Town
- Subdivision Information of the Hainan Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority