A former captain is deeply moved by the tension in the East Vietnam Sea since China deployed an oil rig in Vietnamese waters early last month, which reminded him of the ferocious Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago battle of 1988.

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Le Lenh Son, former captain of HQ 605 ship, which was attacked viciously by Chinese troops off Len Dao Sea, part of Truong Sa archipelago, on March 14, 1988, shared that his greatest wish is to return to Truong Sa to pay homage to his perished comrades and kiss the rocks and sand of the country’s sacred land. 

His memories of the battle flooded back as he watched the updates of the absurd deployment of China’s Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling rig and their ferocious attacks in Vietnamese waters in the East Vietnam Sea beginning May 1, 2014 despite vehement opposition from Vietnam and other countries.

Twenty-six years have passed since the fight, yet that morning has been firmly imprinted in Son’s mind.

On the morning of March 14, 1988, a totally imbalanced battle unfolded when more than 100 Chinese battleships and sea surveillance vessels closed in on and attacked Vietnam’s entirely unarmed ships.

Two Vietnamese HQ 604 and HQ 605 ships carrying only sappers, construction tools and no weaponry were shot by Chinese vessels and sank off Truong Sa’s Gac Ma and Len Dao Islands in the East Vietnam Sea. The other ship, HQ 505, grounded the atolls, becoming a fortification on Co Lin, another island in Truong Sa archipelago.

Captain Vu Phi Tru went down with his HQ 604, while captain Vu Huy Le of HQ 505 and captain Son of HQ 605 were critically wounded.

The Vietnamese soldiers’ extraordinary gallantry and dogged determination to safeguard the nation’s territory was defeated by Chinese state-of-the-art weaponry and ruthlessness. Since then Gac Ma Island has been illegitimately occupied by China.

The imbalanced, bloody 1988 battle

In response to the imminent, illegitimate occupation of Truong Sa by the Chinese invaders, prior to March 14, 1988, the Vietnamese transport ships HQ-505, HQ-604 and HQ-605, under the command of the 125 and 146 Brigades and the E83 Military Engineering Regiment, were immediately sent to the atolls of Co Lin, Len Dao and Gac Ma, where they built fortifications and other infrastructure during the CQ88 campaign, which was a relentless attempt to maintain Vietnamese ownership of Truong Sa.

Late in the evening of March 13, HQ-604 arrived at Gac Ma, while Son’s ship and the other headed for Co Lin and Len Dao.

The group led by Second Lieutenant Tran Van Phuong was in charge of pitching and safeguarding the Vietnamese national flag on the island.

Nearby, the Vietnamese flag was also fluttering on Co Lin Island.

At dawn on March 14, Chinese ships closed in on HQ-604. These ships were fully equipped with advanced firepower and lethal weaponry, whereas the Vietnamese vessels were merely designed to carry soldiers, food and construction materials.

The majority of the Vietnamese soldiers were sappers who specialized in carrying out construction work on the islands.

Despite the serious imbalance in power, the Vietnamese captains and soldiers unwaveringly resolved to safeguard the islands.

The battle continued to rage. The Chinese ships fired heavy machine guns and 37mm cannons at the unyielding Vietnamese soldiers.

Incessantly bombarded with heavy guns, the HQ-604 ship gradually sank into the sea, taking dozens of soldiers down with it.

Immediately after finishing off HQ-604 off Gac Ma, the Chinese warships turned to bombard Captain Son’s HQ-605 with heavy weaponry.

The ship burst into intense flames, and Captain Son had no choice but to order everyone on board to evacuate.

Son joined an infantry unit in 1975. His sea dream finally landed him in Nha Trang Navy Training School, and he later served as captain of different ships.

On Mar 14, 1988, while he was on leave, he was assigned to be captain of HQ605 ship on an urgent construction mission to Truong Sa Lon Island.

Not until the evening of March 13 did Captain Son open a confidential military note, which sent him and his crew to Len Dao Island before the next morning.

Seriously injured, Captain Son received treatment for two years inland, before he switched to a civilian job and returned to Thanh Hoa Province in northern Vietnam, his hometown.

Son, now 61, leads a quiet life, so few people recognize him as the captain of the ship involved in the historic battle.

The battle on Len Dao is also lesser known compared to the other two battles on Co Lin and Gac Ma Islands.

Until now, he cannot forget the moment when his ship, HQ 605, was engulfed in flames and bombarded with Chinese weaponry, and he had to order everyone to leave the ship, as it was the only way to continue fighting for Vietnam’s sovereignty over Len Dao.

He and all his sailors swore to fight to their last breath to safeguard the country’s islands.

His deputy died from critical wounds some hours after leaving the ship, Son recalled emotionally.

Despite his senior age and poor health due to old nagging wounds, Son shared that he has always yearned to return to Truong Sa once more as a soldier.

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