Thousands of copies of historic maps and documents in libraries all over the world show that Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos belong to Vietnam.

The maps and documents were printed and approved by authorities of China and nations around the world centuries ago.

In late 2009, Vietnamese scientists living around the world joined together to search for historic materials in global libraries to prove Vietnam’s legal sovereignty over the islands.

Recently, the maps they found have been on display in exhibitions across Vietnam.

The search begins

Tran Duc Anh Son, PhD, vice head of the Da Nang Institute for Socio-Economic Development (DISED), participated in a project to collect evidence to prove Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos. The project began in November of 2009.

After over a year, the collected materials were categorized in four directories: documentation, maps, images, and audio.

The archives of the project were reviewed and transferred to the People’s Committee of Hoang Sa District of Da Nang City in late 2011.

They include hundreds of precious maps contributed by scientists around the world. Some of the maps, published by Chinese authorities in 1904, 1908, 1918, and reprinted in 1933, prove that the southernmost tip of China is Hainan Island.

The maps also show that Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, hundreds of kilometers south of Hainan, belong to Vietnam.

Written documents compiled by European geographers, navigators, and scholars and published in the 17th-19th centuries conclude that Vietnam has sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa.

In addition, the collection includes 80 maps published by Western nations from 1626 to 1980, all showing proof that Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belong to Vietnam.

Tran Thang, chairman of the Institute for Vietnamese Culture and Education based in New York, is one of the more credited scientists who contributed to the project.

He used his own funds and the help of his friends and colleagues to purchase maps and donate them to the Da Nang Institute.

Exhibitions

The first of these exhibitions was organized on January 20, 2013 in Da Nang to mark the 39th anniversary of the seizure and occupation of Hoang Sa by China from Vietnam, following a battle in the East Sea.

Over 10,000 people came to the exhibit.

The maps and documentation were later displayed all over Vietnam, stopping in Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, Ha Tinh, Thua Thien-Hue, Khanh Hoa, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Upon learning that original copies of important maps and documentation are kept in libraries all over the world, Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV) made a documentary film on the global search for evidence of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the islands.

The film chronicles the journey to different cities around the world, with the U.S. featured as the first venue.

To be continued