Topic

Paracel Islandsi

The Paracel Islands, known as the Xisha Islands in China and the Hoang Sa Archipelago in Vietnam, is a group of more than 30 islands in the South China Sea located between the coastlines of Vietnam and China. They are currently controlled by China but also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. The islands were the scene of a naval battle between China and then South Vietnam in January 1974, after which China gained control of the entire archipelago.

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  • Beijing has released a series of points to define its waters along its southern coast
  • The result is a series of straight lines that some observers say extends its maritime area
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PLA command calls United States the ‘biggest disrupter of peace’ in the region, accusing it of ‘illegally’ entering waters near contested islands in first encounter in the area since leaders Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met in effort to manage tensions.

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Response from Beijing comes after Ottawa accused PLA jets of ‘significantly unsafe’ action in buzzing a Canadian military helicopter ‘in international airspace’.

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In latest sign of Chinese military development in contested waters, satellite images show new airstrip stretching across Triton Island in the Paracels, but Hanoi and Taipei say the archipelago is theirs.

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Pledges on ‘guiding the settlement of sea-related issues’ follow high-profile visit to China by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

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The vessel Xiang Yang Hong 10 began operating in the EE zone on May 7 – the most significant incursion since 2019 – but China claims its activity is ‘legitimate and lawful’.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says China is worried about activity by the state energy firm Petronas in a part of the South China Sea that Malaysia says is its territory, but that it is ‘unequivocally and firmly committed to protecting … sovereignty, rights and interests in its maritime areas’.

PLA says USS Chancellorsville guided-missile cruiser entered waters off archipelago, evidence of American ‘militarisation’ of South China Sea.

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USS Benfold had been asserting its right to navigate through the waters under international law, according to US Seventh Fleet. PLA spokesman says it was warned off after entering Chinese territorial waters illegally.

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Yoon Ju-dong, senior official of company which operated tugboat escorting Jumbo out of Hong Kong, says it was ‘an accident without any foul play involved’.

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The Shiyan 6 will improve China’s ability to develop resources and safeguard national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, state media report.

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It comes amid escalating tension between China and rival claimants, as well as Western nations led by the US and its expanded military presence in the region.

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PLA is conducting live ammunition training in the South China Sea, Yellow Sea and Bohai Strait. It will finish as American, Indian, Australian and Japanese navies begin high-profile Malabar exercise.

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